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noMy top 40 ‘Star Wars’ comic book stories for the 40th anniversary: The top 10http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/12/25/My-top-40-Star-Wars-comic-book-stories-for-the-40th-anniversary-The-top-10
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Concluding the countdown of my top 40 "Star Wars" comic stories, here are my top 10:
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<b>10. "Dark Empire"</b> (six-issue series, 1991-92, Tom Veitch, Cam Kennedy) – Kennedy's gorgeous artwork paints Dark Horse's debut "Star Wars" series as darker than my usual tastes, but I like the idea that the New Republic will never be stable until it has the foundation of a new Jedi Order. This is the series where Luke comes to that realization. Amid tight plotting, film-style action and sparkling dialog, Veitch introduces several key EU elements. My favorite is the Jedi Holocron, essentially a search engine of Jedi history. Secondly, I enjoy the detour to Han's homeworld, the Smuggler's Moon Nar Shaddaa, where Boba Fett returns with the most famous line in "Star Wars" comics history: "The Sarlacc found me somewhat indigestible, Solo." Thirdly, I like the notion of the Deep Core Worlds, including the resurrected Emperor's creepy throne world of Byss.
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<b>9. "Fire Carrier"</b> ("Dark Times" Issues 23-27, 2013, Randy Stradley, Gabriel Guzman) -- By this point, "Dark Times" had established itself as having a big heart due to its makeshift families – including the younglings under Jedi Master K'Kruhk's charge – but also a dark underbelly, as we see the galaxy's grimmest depredations. Here, the Arkinnea militia, in a parallel to Nazi Germany, hauls refugees to the promise of settlements in the north via an ore hauler. It empties the bottom hatches, dropping refugees to their deaths on the rocks below. Against this harrowing backdrop, Stradley explores noble Imperial officers such as Commander Teron, who helps fund and supply K'Kruhk's makeshift Jedi academy. After a few years of Teron supplying seeds every spring as promised, K'Kruhk's group doesn't hear from him again. It's a poignant epilogue.
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<b>8. "A Death Star Is Born"</b> ("Star Wars Tales" Issue 4, 2000, Kevin Rubio, Lucas Marangon) – "Tales" beat "Family Guy" to the joke by seven years in this imagining of a budget meeting for the Death Star. The Emperor wonders if safety rails around the various bottomless pits would be too much to ask. Director of operations Tol Sivron says, "It's not too much to ask, as long as you don't mind an overall budget increase of 36 percent." The Emperor replies: "Oh, in that case, I'll just be careful." Along with quick little jokes like Tarkin choking not from Vader's Force choke but rather because his coffee goes down the wrong pipe, "A Death Star Is Born" is a 12-page comedic gift to fans who know "A New Hope" inside and out.
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<b>7. "The Warrior Princess"</b> ("X-Wing: Rogue Squadron" Issues 13-16, 1995-96, Michael Stackpole and Scott Tolson, John Nadeau) -- Leia was a princess-turned-warrior; Rogue Squadron pilot Plourr is a warrior-turned-princess, and naturally there's humor to be mined. But mostly it's a dramatic yarn as the gruff Plourr returns to her mantle as princess of Eiattu in an attempt to stave off civil war. It's fascinating to see Plourr navigate the morass of Eiattu alliances, especially when it seems she's on the wrong side. We also meet compelling new Rogues, notably female Calamari Ibtisam and male Quarren Nrin, rivals-turned-friends; and the small-but-brutal Imperial villain Leonia Tavira (later to appear in the novel "I, Jedi").
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<b>6. "Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon"</b> ("Tales of the Jedi" Issues 1-2, 1993, Tom Veitch, Chris Gossett) -- Although it takes place 4,000 years prior to "A New Hope," we see Jedi Masters and apprentices, lightsabers, lightspeed travel and a galactic government. At the same time, "TOTJ" feels historic, and it's Gossett's drawings that provide this fascinatingly ancient feel. The ships and architecture -- such as Onderon's walled city of Iziz and the Beast Riders' forest fortress -- are rich works of art. The beiges, browns, yellows and oranges from colorist Pamela Rambo add to the feel of a bygone era because those are the hues we associate with ancient Egypt. Veitch, who talked with Lucas before embarking on "Tales of the Jedi," wrote a story that holds up beautifully despite all the new material since '93.
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<b>5. "The Star Wars"</b> (eight-issue series, 2013-14, J.W. Rinzler, Mike Mayhew) – We had gotten a taste of George Lucas' early "Star Wars" drafts in "The Annotated Screenplays" and Rinzler's "Making of" books, but this comic brings the rough draft to vibrant life. Rinzler adds and subtracts dialogue for the sake of clarity, but mostly -- fitting with the historical purpose of the project -- he leaves the flaws and oddities in place. For example, an Aquilae snubfighter pilot is named Chewie, and later in the story, we meet the Wookiee Chewbacca, nicknamed "Chewie." The first thing that jumps out is that Lucas thinks in terms of action sequences first, and considers plot, character and theme as secondary concerns. Many familiar sequences are in the rough draft, but the overall plot does not link together in a tight filmic structure. Still, it's remarkable how many of these sequences could be copied and pasted into later scripts, so obviously there was something to all of this from the beginning.
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<b>4. "Twilight"</b> ("Republic" Issues 19-22, 2000, John Ostrander, Jan Duursema) -- Ostrander makes his spectacular "Star Wars" debut, launching the Quinlan Vos/Aayla Secura saga that will be the heart of "Republic," Dark Horse's longest-running "Star Wars" series. Vos makes for a fascinating way to approach the light-side/dark-side conflict. When we meet him, he has amnesia. Because he does not remember the Jedi code, he's prone to tiptoe into the dark side as he seeks his answers. Still, when Mace Windu puts him on the spot, Quin acknowledges that he does answer to his inner morality. The wickedly grinning Devaronian Vilmarh "Villie" Grahrk is less morally driven yet strangely endearing. Every decision he makes is based on money. If he has a bet that Quinlan will not get off a planet alive, he'll try to kill him. If he has a bet that Quin will survive, there's no better ally than Villie.
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<b>3. "Tag & Bink Episode I: Revenge of the Clone Menace"</b> (2006, Kevin Rubio, Lucas Marangon) – They're all great, but the prequel issue is the funniest of the four issues chronicling the GFFA's answer to Rosencrantz & Guildenstern. Young Tag, blessed with Corellian suaveness, hides around corners with Bink at the Naboo lake house in "Attack of the Clones" and helps Anakin say the right things to woo Padme. Padme: "We'd be living a lie. I couldn't do that. Could you, Anakin? Could you live a lie?" Tag (whispering to Anakin): "Now dude, trust me. Agree with her, and then turn and walk away real cool, like you don't really need her." Anakin: "No, you're right. It would destroy us." Padme (as the scene extends beyond the film): "Anakin, wait!" (She pulls Anakin into a deep kiss.) Bink: "That's amazing." Tag: "Yeah, it's sad, but that kinda stuff works all the time. It's the 'catch-and-release' principle."
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<b>2. "Darklighter"</b> ("Empire" Issues 8, 9, 12 and 15, 2003, Paul Chadwick, Douglas Wheatley) -- Writer Paul Chadwick uses the deleted Biggs scenes from "A New Hope" as building blocks to tell the full saga of Luke's best bud. Before "Darklighter," Biggs was in "Star Wars" mainly to symbolize the cost of war. But Chadwick makes him into a fully realized human being in a story that packs a similar emotional punch to "Episode IV" itself. Wheatley, whose art looks like paintings, deserves half of the storytelling credit as he gives cinematic pacing and kinetics to "Darklighter." For example, a series of three small panels show Biggs and Hobbie standing stock-still until their commander departs, then a big panel on the next page finds them exploding into an argument.
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<b>1. "Count Dooku"</b> ("Jedi" Issue 4, 2003, John Ostrander, Jan Duursema) – Dooku plays Quinlan Vos even more masterfully than Darth Sidious plays Anakin Skywalker in "Episode III" – after all, Anakin comes very close to siding with Mace Windu in that pivotal moment. But Dooku is always a safe step ahead of our hero. First, he forces Quinlan to blow his cover by threatening his relative Sheyf Tinte. "I've known the truth about you from the start, Quinlan Vos," Dooku says. Then Dooku, saying "I only need to open your eyes," tells Quinlan of Tinte's betrayal, and he turns Quin from an undercover agent into a true minion. Or does he? The mystery of Quin's loyalty – the best storyline from Dark Horse's "Republic" saga -- will continue to play out from here.
What are your favorite "Star Wars" comics? Share your thoughts in the comment thread.
Find all my "Star Wars" comic reviews <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/Index-Star-Wars-Comics-Reviews" target="_blank">here.</a>
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 25 Dec 2017 00:15:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/12/25/My-top-40-Star-Wars-comic-book-stories-for-the-40th-anniversary-The-top-10My top 40 ‘Star Wars’ comic book stories for the 40th anniversary: Nos. 20-11http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/12/24/My-top-40-Star-Wars-comic-book-stories-for-the-40th-anniversary-Nos-2011
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Continuing the countdown of my top 40 "Star Wars" comic stories, here are Nos. 20-11:
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<b>20. "Jango Fett: Open Seasons"</b> (four-issue series, 2002, Haden Blackman, Ramón F. Bachs) – After "Episode II" seemed to contradict the Fett family backstory from the fan-favorite short story "Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett," Blackman works his retconning magic amid gorgeous art. Jango's parents are killed by Death Watch, and the youth is taken in by Jaster Mereel, leader of the Mandos. Later, Count Dooku and Jango hash out the cloning deal. Dooku: "You want a son?" Jango: "No. An apprentice. He will become Jaster's legacy." So it makes sense that Boba would later use Jaster's name as an alias. This is also the comic where we learn why Dooku leaves the Jedi Order. After a bloodbath on a snowy world, Dooku wonders "What have we done?"
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<b>19. "The Hidden Enemy"</b> ("Republic" Issues 81-83, 2006, John Ostrander, Jan Duursema) – The Quinlan Vos saga's final arc, which takes place concurrently with "Revenge of the Sith," is steeped in fatalism. I had a lump in my throat seeing Luminara get gunned down, hearing the fateful news about Aayla and Bariss on Felucia, and seeing Quinlan flee his former soldiers into the Kashyyyk jungle Rambo-style. But there are uplifting moments to balance it out. Villie is in fine form – always doing things for money, but gradually beginning to consider Quin a friend until he saves Quin's life. The young Wookiee who sees Villie as an uncle is a humorous touch. And Quin holding his baby on the final panel puts a satisfying bow on "Republic."
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<b>18. "Darth Vader and the Lost Command"</b> ("Darth Vader" Issues 1-5, 2011, Haden Blackman, Rick Leonardi) – This is the most daring of the several tales that take us into Vader's twisted mind. "Lost Command" opens with strikingly contradictory images. Vader dreams of a life that could have been with Padme: They have a son named Jinn, and Anakin goes on missions wiping out the last of the Sith while Padme serves as supreme chancellor. Interspersing Vader's visions with awesome panels of him fighting without his helmet, the pitch-black tragedy of the Dark Lord seeps into the reader's psyche.
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<b>17. "Ewoks: Shadows of Endor"</b> (digest, 2013, Zack Giallongo) -- This love letter to the 1980s "Ewoks" cartoons and movies is a masterwork of continuity, as it fits into the convoluted timeline of "Ewoks" stories while reconciling the diverse portrayals of our beloved woodland fauna. For example, Teebo mostly has his movie look, whereas we recognize Latara (not seen in the movies) from the cartoon, but she's roughed up just a bit so we can imagine this is what she would've looked like in movie form. Emphasizing the comic's mature tone, the Dulok who leads the Ewoks to the site of the Imperial base is not a comic-relief coward. He's manipulative and has a deep cultural dislike of Ewoks. This ain't the child-friendly "Ewoks" where the Duloks wanted to steal the Ewoks' magic soap.
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<b>16. "Jedi vs. Sith"</b> (six-issue series, 2001, Darko Macan, Ramon F. Bachs) -- Because the main characters are three children, this parallel yarn to the first "Darth Bane" novel powerfully examines the horrors of war in the tradition of "Ender's Game." Without much sense of why wars happen, Tomcat, Bug and Rain are plucked off of their crappy mudball of Somov Rit by a Jedi Master. Bachs (along with inker Raul Fernandez and colorist Chris Blythe) deserves a lot of credit for the emotional impact, as he draws the kids with big eyes and tear-stained faces. Readers, along with Bug, see Tomcat's and Rain's downfall and feel helpless to stop it. Rain suspects killing is wrong, but admits to her new teacher, Bane, that she's "still young."
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<b>15. "Rite of Passage"</b> ("Republic" Issues 42-45, 2002, John Ostrander, Jan Duursema) -- It's cool how Aayla's and Quinlan's roles have flipped from "Darkness," where Quin talked his student back from the brink of evil. Because of her lekku, which store memories, Aayla has overcome the memory-loss effects of the glitteryl she was poisoned with. But the glitteryl erased the memories of Quinlan, a member of the Kiffar species. Quinlan makes a good point: "Am I changed? I can't tell. All beings change." There's a sadness to this arc because Aayla feels a bond with Quin that goes back to their childhoods, but from his perspective, she's a stranger.
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<b>14. "The Ahakista Gambit"</b> ("Rebellion" Issues 6-10, 2007, Brandon Badeaux and Rob Williams, Michel Lacombe) – Usually, writers bring us into characters' heads via narration, but in a neat twist, the evil information broker Raze communicates directly into the brain of his employee Wyl Tarson, who is also a Rebel double agent. It's not easy to do "subtle" in a comic book, but Badeaux, Williams and Lacombe pull it off. Raze keeps reminding Wyl that he owns him -- due to the bomb planted in his head -- and he also exerts influence on Wyl's love interest Laynara. Raze is served by handmaidens – whom he also abuses and perhaps literally owns as slaves – and on the last panel, we see one of them pull a dagger from a sheath. Good stuff.
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<b>13. "Claws of the Dragon"</b> ("Legacy" Issues 14-19, 2007-08, John Ostrander, Jan Duursema) – Connections to the grander saga (the revelation of Darth Krayt's identity traces all the way back to "Republic," for example) enrich "Legacy" and push Cade Skywalker's dark-side journey above its clichés. Plus, Cade is different from other Force-users who have taken this path because he does not seek to reshape the galaxy; he just wants to carve his own path. Krayt: "Don't be a fool! If you jump, you die – and you doom the galaxy to chaos!" Cade: "The galaxy can look after itself." After he escapes Krayt's temple on Coruscant, Cade has a happy reunion with friend Jariah Syn and Zeltron girlfriend Deliah Blue. Ostrander earns the victorious moment after what had been a rather dark series up to this point.
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<b>12. "The Making of Baron Fel"</b> ("X-Wing: Rogue Squadron" Issue 25, 1997, Michael Stackpole, Steve Crespo) -- This double-length issue gives us the complete backstory of Imperial TIE fighter ace Baron Soontir Fel, along with a kicker of a final panel where he offers to join the Rebellion. Fel serves as a springboard for discussions about defecting from the Empire to the Rebellion, and because he is Wedge's brother-in-law, he provides a "brother vs. brother" element to this part of the storyline reminiscent of Anakin and Obi-Wan.
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<b>11. "Infinities: A New Hope"</b> (four-issue series, 2001, Chris Warner, Drew Johnson and Al Rio) – In by far the best of the "What If?" trilogy, Warner throws a monkey wrench into the end of the film's narrative when Luke's proton torpedo explodes prematurely, failing to blow up the Death Star. Han and Luke escape, but Leia is taken prisoner. What follows is an epic story that includes five years (!) of Luke training on Dagobah, which is also time for Leia to be indoctrinated into the Empire and to convince herself that she can fix it from the inside. Warner blends humor and action like the films do, from Luke wryly telling Han "I figured you didn't come all this way for Yoda's stew," to Yoda playfully manipulating Admiral Tarkin and using the Death Star (excuse me, "Justice Star") to blow up Super Star Destroyers. But "Infinities: A New Hope" also delivers a robust, nuanced story that transcends its gimmick.
Coming tomorrow: The top 10.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSun, 24 Dec 2017 01:10:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/12/24/My-top-40-Star-Wars-comic-book-stories-for-the-40th-anniversary-Nos-2011My top 40 ‘Star Wars’ comic book stories for the 40th anniversary: Nos. 30-21http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/12/23/My-top-40-Star-Wars-comic-book-stories-for-the-40th-anniversary-Nos-3021
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Continuing the countdown of my top 40 "Star Wars" comic stories, here are Nos. 30-21:
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<b>30. "The Dynasty Trap"</b> ("Jabba the Hutt" Issue 3, 1995, Jim Woodring, Art Wetherell) – All four "Jabba" one-shots are great, but this is the most gleefully insane, as Jabba crushes his enemies to a pulp with his bulk. Alternatively, he ejects them into space, watches them explode and says "Ha! I love to watch 'em pop!" But this isn't visceral horror; this is the lighter side of dark comedy. Jabba blatantly slobbers on every panel as the artists purposely go over the top. Weirdly, a reader mostly roots for the Hutt because his rival crime lords are even worse.
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<b>29. The Shira Brie arc</b> (Marvel "Star Wars" Issues 60-63, 1982, David Michelinie, Walt Simonson) -- Although she was introduced in Issue 55, and although she'll return in later comics and novels as Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya, the heart of Shira's arc is in Marvel Issues 60-63 ("Shira's Story," "Screams in the Void," "Pariah!" and "The Mind Spider"). Luke learns that the flirtatious X-wing pilot is actually Darth Vader's personal spy. He embarks on a one-track mission to expose Shira and clear his name, similar to what Ahsoka goes through at the end of Season 5 of "The Clone Wars." It ends differently, though: Luke is thrilled to be reinstated by the Alliance military.
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<b>28. "Princess ... Warrior"</b> ("Empire" Issues 5-6, 2003, Randy Stradley, Davide Fabbri) -- Stradley cleverly expands upon scenes written by Brian Daley for the "Star Wars" radio drama, specifically "Episode Two: Points of Origin," as Princess Leia learns hard truths about the cruel necessity of sending troops into battle on Ralltiir. Fabbri – along with teammates Christian Dalla Vecchia (inks) and Digital Chameleon (colors) – is among my favorite "Star Wars" artists. He draws everyone with beauty or handsomeness without resorting to superhero-style sexualizing.
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<b>27. "In the Empire's Service"</b> ("X-Wing: Rogue Squadron" Issues 21-24, 1997, Michael A. Stackpole, John Nadeau) -- For the first time in comics, we see the staple villain of Stackpole's "X-Wing" novels, Ysanne Isard, portrayed in all her one-red-eye, one-blue-eye glory. Her pawns include TIE fighter ace Baron Soontir Fel, the most powerful tool of the Imperial forces. Like Pellaeon from the novels, Fel is one of those oddly moral and noble Imperials; he never underestimates his enemy's abilities in battle and he never backs away from a mission where he can protect the lives of Imperial citizens. The final frame where Fel reveals that his wife is Syal Antilles, Wedge's estranged sister, ranks among the best "Star Wars" cliffhangers.
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<b>26. "The Tyrant's Fist"</b> ("Purge" Issues 5-6, 2012-13, Alexander Freed; Marco Castiello and Andrea Chella) -- The "Purge" series wraps with its best story, about how the Empire purges not just the Jedi as people but also the Jedi as an idea. This is an important point in the wider continuity, because by the time of the classic trilogy a mere 20 years down the road, the Force has become a figurative "ancient religion." Rather than merely murdering the last Jedi on Vaklin – a planet that has long revered Jedi – Vader embarrasses him by exposing him to a toxin that makes him act foolish. Just as crucially, the Empire builds schools and offers citizens jobs. At the start of the tale, the local Imperials doubt they can crush the insurgency; by the end, half of the people are enthusiastic about the regime.
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<b>25. "Iron Eclipse"</b> ("Agent of the Empire" Issues 1-5, 2011-12, John Ostrander, Stephane Roux) – Jahan Cross is unapologetically from the James Bond mold, but he translates well to the height of the Empire. He does off-the-books missions, reporting to head of Intelligence Armand Isard (from the "X-wing" novels) and crossing paths with Han and Chewbacca in the Corporate Sector. When Cross bonds with a femme fatale, he notes that she'd be great marriage material for someone. "But you're not interested," she says. "Well, I didn't say that," he quips, but of course we know he'll have a new love interest in the next story.
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<b>24. "The Path to Nowhere"</b> ("Dark Times" Issues 1-5, 2006-07, Randy Stradley, Douglas Wheatley) – Showing how Palpatine immediately begins ruling by blunt force, Stradley opens the aptly titled "Dark Times" with an incredibly grim storyline for our Nosaurian hero Bomo Greenbark, who learns that the guy who purchased his daughter at a slave market killed and ate her. The bonding of the makeshift family on the Uhumele is subtly shown by Wheatley: For example, some panels show the diminutive Ratty cautiously placing a hand on Bomo's arm to try to comfort him.
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<b>23. "Darkness"</b> ("Republic" Issues 32-35, 2001, John Ostrander, Jan Duursema) – At this point in the saga of our favorite amnesiac Jedis, Aayla Secura not only hates her Master Quinlan Vos's guts for killing her uncle Pol Secura, but she demonstrates her loathing by reviving a dark sider from suspended animation on the prison world of Kiffex and serving as his apprentice. Ostrander expands on established lore in creative ways: Volfe Karrko is an Anzati ex-Jedi who commands an army of feral Anzati (a species introduced in the "Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina" book).
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<b>22. "Demon"</b> ("Knights of the Old Republic" Issues 47-50, 2009-10, John Jackson Miller, Brian Ching) -- The author's meticulous plot crafting pays off in the final arc of the main "KOTOR" series, but he keeps personalities, relationships and funny moments at the fore. I had to laugh when – in a nod to the "Firefly" episode "Jaynestown" -- we see giant stone statues of Gryph and Slyssk on Coruscant: "We, uh, saved half a battalion by accident," when he and Slyssk escaped from Serroco, Gryph explains. The story of mysterious Mandalorian Rohlan Dyre is less comedic, as we learn he's part of a tragic chain of events that leads to the final showdown with Demagol. The Zayne-Jarael kiss that concludes Issue 50 is a giggle-worthy bowtie on a consistently fun series.
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<b>21. "The Dreadnaughts of Rendili"</b> ("Republic" Issues 69-71, 2004, John Ostrander, Jan Duursema) – This arc masterfully merges the stories of "Republic's" four main characters – Quinlan, Aayla, Anakin and Obi-Wan. In an informal trial before the Jedi Council, Quinlan defends his undercover actions from preceding issues – a meatier version of the "Clone Wars" Season 5 arc where Ahsoka is framed for a crime. With Quin, we (and the Jedi Council) honestly don't know if he's good or bad. Quin himself asks, "Have I let the dark side take me?" Quin's monologue is beautifully interspersed with scenes of Anakin fighting Ventress to her (presumed) death. As one Jedi presumably returns to the light, another Jedi descends into darkness, with a prescient Duursema drawing Anakin in his "Episode III" Evil Face, just minus the glowing yellow eyes.
Coming tomorrow: Nos. 20-11.
Find all my "Star Wars" comic reviews <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/Index-Star-Wars-Comics-Reviews" target="_blank">here.</a>
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSat, 23 Dec 2017 01:04:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/12/23/My-top-40-Star-Wars-comic-book-stories-for-the-40th-anniversary-Nos-3021My top 40 ‘Star Wars’ comic book stories for the 40th anniversary: Nos. 40-31http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/12/22/My-top-40-Star-Wars-comic-book-stories-for-the-40th-anniversary-4031
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Earlier this year, I ranked <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/5/25/My-top-40-Star-Wars-books-for-the-40th-anniversary-The-top-10" target="_blank">my top 40 "Star Wars" books.</a> But the 40th anniversary year isn't over yet, so over the next four days, I'll count down my top 40 "Star Wars" comic book stories, from the Expanded Universe (a.k.a. Legends) that started with the first issue of Marvel's movie adaptation on April 12, 1977, and concluded with Dark Horse's "Legacy Volume II" Issue 18 on Aug. 27, 2014. The EU is gone, but not forgotten, as these stories will always stay ripe for a re-read.
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For the purpose of this list, I defined "story" as narrowly as possible – a single arc with a beginning, middle and end (although the arc can be part of a wider saga, which is why this list will include, for example, multiple "Republic" entries). The length can range from a short story – something from "Star Wars Tales," for instance -- to multiple issues. Let's start with Nos. 40-31:
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<b>40. "Underworld: The Yavin Vassilika"</b> (five-issue series, 2001-02, Mike Kennedy, Carlos Meglia) – The biggest bounty hunter romp in "Star Wars" lore starts with three Hutts – including Jabba -- making a bet among themselves to see who can acquire the eponymous idol. The contractors include Han, Chewie, Lando, Dengar, Bossk, IG-88, Zuckuss, 4-LOM, Boba Fett and Greedo. Despite all the rivalries and double-crossing, Kennedy's plot is clear, and there's a fun rhythm to his dialog. Take this gem from our favorite dashing rogue: Lando: "Do we know each other?" Jozzel: "Not yet." Lando (going in for the hand kiss): "Thank goodness. For a moment there, I was afraid I might have lost track of some priceless memories." Meglia's quirky pencils and inks (paired with Dave Stewart's colors) do a lot of storytelling, too, like when we see Greedo tagging along in the background of Han's group, looking sheepish.
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<b>39. "Resurrection"</b> ("Star Wars Tales" Issue 9, 2001, Ron Marz, Rick Leonardi) – Most of the 64 pages of "Tales" Issue 9 are devoted to the Vader-Maul showdown that fans had dreamed of (and which eventually happens on TV's "Rebels"). For those who want "Resurrection" to be canon rather than Infinities, an argument can be made that it fits. Supposedly, dark side adepts use magic to manifest Darth Maul (as this was written before his resurrection on "The Clone Wars" TV series), and Vader gets caught in their trap. But it would be within the character -- and arguably, the powers -- of the Emperor to set up a test between his two apprentices.
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<b>38. "Darth Vader Strikes"</b> ("Star Wars" newspaper strip, 1981, Archie Goodwin, Al Williamson; collected in "Classic Star Wars" Issues 2-4) -- With Vader coming from one direction and Luke from the other, there's palpable suspense in the steam tunnels of the Imperial-occupied shipyard planet Fondor (even though we know they probably won't meet in this pre-"Empire Strikes Back" yarn). Since our heroes are one-dimensional in these newspaper strips, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Tanith Shire, Luke's earliest love interest in "Star Wars" lore that he's not related to. Her flirtyness is an entertaining contrast to Leia (Tanith's first words upon seeing Luke: "Hey, you're cute!").
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<b>37. "Slaves of the Republic"</b> ("The Clone Wars" Issues 1-6, 2008-09, Henry Gilroy; Scott Hepburn, Ramón Pérez, Lucas Marangon) – Although George Lucas often mined the comics for concepts, this is the only story he directly adapted into a TV episode (although it was moved from Season 1 to 4). I assume he wanted a story about slavery in order to bring that aspect of Anakin's past to the fore. Maybe someone said "We need something like Henry Gilroy's 'Slaves of the Republic' comic." Then someone else said, "We can't do any better than that, so let's just adapt it." While the TV episodes improve on some things, the comic has the advantage of including Asajj Ventress as the villain in the final act.
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<b>36. "Old Wounds"</b> ("Visionaries," 2005, Aaron McBride) – In the most famous tale from this collection of yarns written and drawn by "Episode III" concept artists, McBride gives us the first image of a resurrected Darth Maul with mechanical legs. The design, even Maul's longer horns that show his feral nature, was used pretty much verbatim in "The Clone Wars." And McBride's story isn't that far off: Although we don't learn how Maul survived or got the legs, he is obsessed with killing Obi-Wan, same as on the TV series. Here, though, he recovers prior to the Clone Wars period, and is seen stalking Kenobi at Kamino, Geonosis, Mustafar and Polis Massa before tracking him down on Tatooine (something that eventually happens on "Rebels").
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<b>35. "My Brother, My Enemy"</b> ("Rebellion" Issues 1-5, 2006, Rob Williams; Brandon Badeaux and Michel Lacombe) – Continuing from the final arc of the "Empire" comics, Janek "Tank" Sunber, Luke's old pal from Tatooine, is haunted by nightmares. Is he right to serve the Empire or is Luke right to rebel against it? To readers, it's not much of an argument; Luke deflects Tank's accusation of criminality by asking if Biggs and Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were criminals. But it's hard to overcome Imperial schooling. Sunber's moral journey is a page-turner, as he could go either way up until the end.
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<b>34. "Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire"</b> (four-issue series, 1999, John Wagner; Ian Gibson and John Nadeau) – All of the "Boba Fett" one-shots – most written by Wagner -- are darkly humorous portrayals of his character, but this series ranks slightly higher due to its importance in the continuity. Surprisingly, Anakin Skywalker and Boba Fett don't cross paths in the Clone Wars era, so this yarn marks the moment when Vader gains the respect for Fett we sense in their "Empire Strikes Back" interplay. As the story begins, Vader does not understand Fett, whom he has hired to track down a valuable item for him: "The bounty hunter ... can be relied upon to disobey me," Vader thinks. He's unaware that Fett always honors his contracts -- unlike Vader himself, who plans on killing the bounty hunter after he gets the goods.
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<b>33. "Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir"</b> (four-issue series, 2014, Jeremy Barlow, Juan Frigeri) – Originally intended to be the "Clone Wars" Season 6 episodes "The Enemy of My Enemy," "A Tale of Two Apprentices," "Proxy War" and "Showdown on Dathomir" before Disney canceled the series, this action-oriented epic brings together several pieces on the game boards of Darths Sidious and Maul and delivers major revelations, such as the fact that Talzin is Maul's mother. The comic is frustrating because 1) we didn't get to see it as TV episodes and 2) it leads into other unproduced stories that would've further explained the Sidious-Talzin rivalry. Still, I'm glad it exists.
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<b>32. "Deluge"</b> ("Knight Errant" Issues 6-10, 2010-11, John Jackson Miller; Ivan Rodriguez, Iban Coello, David Daza) -- As she attempts to rescue refugees from Aquilaris who don't want to be rescued in this second volume of the "Knight Errant" trilogy, we see an example of Kerra Holt's common complaint: "Blast it – why does it always have to be this hard? Why do I always have to do everything myself? Just once, I'd like to meet some people with some fight!" No doubt a major influence on Rey from the Disney films, Kerra's heroism comes naturally, and she's (refreshingly) not a candidate for the dark side, but she could stand to forgive others' flaws.
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<b>31. "Tatooine"</b> ("Legacy" Issues 37-40, 2009, John Ostrander, Jan Duursema) -- Ostrander gets back to the saga's core family dynamic as Cade Skywalker is sought by Sith Empire agent Gunner Yage, whom he doesn't realize is his half-sister. Also back on the scene is Sith Empire agent Morrigan Corde, whom Cade knows is his mom, although he wants nothing to do with her due to past sins. But the highlight is a long dream sequence where Cade argues with the ghost of his ancestor, Luke, about the principles of non-interventionism. Cade: "I'm not a Sith or a Jedi! I'm not like my father, or your father, or you. I just want to be left alone!" Luke: "You've proclaimed who you are. But the galaxy is not going to leave you alone. Ever."
Coming tomorrow: Nos. 30-21.
Find all my "Star Wars" comic reviews <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/Index-Star-Wars-Comics-Reviews" target="_blank">here.</a>
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksFri, 22 Dec 2017 00:02:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/12/22/My-top-40-Star-Wars-comic-book-stories-for-the-40th-anniversary-4031‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘The Dust Waltz’ (1998) and ‘Ring of Fire’ (2000)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/11/9/Buffy-flashback-The-Dust-Waltz-1998-and-Ring-of-Fire-2000
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Dark Horse didn't have much doubt about how well its "Buffy" comics would sell. Rather than tiptoeing into the waters, the company released its first graphic novel when the regular title was only up to its second issue. Throughout the "BTVS Classic" period, it released two single-story graphic novels (which I'll review here), plus tons of other miniseries, one-shots and short stories (but those are for another post), in addition to the ongoing "Buffy" and "Angel" series.
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Dan Brereton's <a href="http://buffy.wikia.com/wiki/The_Dust_Waltz" target="_blank">"The Dust Waltz"</a> (October 1998) is the first graphic novel. It's the length of three issues, and as with the early installments in the ongoing series, it's set in Season 3. Specifically, it takes place – like too many "Buffy" comics and novels – between "Revelations" (3.7) and "Lovers Walk" (3.8). In an introduction, Brereton writes about his love of "Buffy," and I don't doubt him, but "The Dust Waltz" is characterized by the hesitancy that also marks Andi Watson's work, although Brereton (who also co-wrote "The Origin") is more in tune with the rhythms of the Slayer-verse.
Rich and dynamic art by Hector Gomez (pencils) and Sandu Florea (inks) are the biggest appeal of a solid but ultimately forgettable book, where our heroes have to stop a vampire from summoning a demon from the Hellmouth. The most interesting element is that the lead vampire, Lilith, and some of her cohorts are referred to as "old ones," a term that would later apply to the nearly invincible Illyria on "Angel." These old ones aren't as strong, though; Buffy stakes one and follows with a quip about getting dust in her hair. Admittedly, the dramatic pause followed by a "Boom!" when the vamp explodes gives credence to its ancient status.
It's also interesting that Giles' niece, Jane, appears in "The Dust Waltz," marking a rare appearance of one of his relatives in "Buffy" lore. With her overalls, short black hair and freckles, she's nicely designed, and of course Xander has a thing for her (even though he's still with Cordy at this time). I assumed the gang would handle her like Owen in "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" (1.5), scrambling to keep her out of the loop. But for some reason, they don't censor themselves, and at any rate, Jane is unfazed by learning the supernatural world is real. I have to admit to some surprise that she doesn't turn out to be a demon who took over Jane's body; I admire Brereton's restraint on that point.
The other single-story graphic novel, <a href="http://buffy.wikia.com/wiki/Ring_of_Fire" target="_blank">"Ring of Fire"</a> (August 2000), came out when Dark Horse was getting serious about producing work that could proudly stand next to what we were seeing on TV. Set during the Angelus period of Season 2, it could have been – if not for the cost of special effects – a TV episode. Douglas Petrie, who joined the TV writing staff in Season 3, shows flawless knowledge of "Buffy" lore and gives us a story that not only fits with the continuity, but also doesn't feel shoehorned in.
A distraught Giles thinks about resurrecting Jenny (he summons her spirit, which asks him not to go through with it). When he chews out Willow and Xander for raising Buffy from the dead in Season 6, we could assume he knows it's a bad idea from his younger magic-using days, but "Ring of Fire" shows us his memories are fresher. He has a "dark Giles" relapse, telling an opponent to "Call me Ripper" in his coolest line this side of "I'd like to test that theory" from "Two to Go" (6.21), also penned by Petrie. As "Ring of Fire" ends with Buffy seeking assurance that Giles will be at her side in the coming fight, this is a meatier reprise of a thread from the loaded episode "Passion" (2.17).
A twist finds Buffy detained by men in black from "the bureau," although not the FBI. The same organization that recruited Marcie in "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" (1.11)? A precursor to Season 4's Initiative? No on both counts, because these MIBs are actually demons. Maybe answers are forthcoming in another story, but Buffy doesn't have to deal with them for long thanks to a rescue from Kendra.
I was surprised by the other Slayer's appearance ("That right! She's still around during this timeframe," I realized), but immediately it made sense. I always felt like Kendra's Season 2 appearances were limited by the budget or Bianca Lawson's availability, and that she should've been more consistently involved in the fight against Angelus, Spike and Drusilla. "Ring of Fire" rectifies this, and Petrie also writes her as having more confidence than in her debut (2.9-10, "What's My Line, Parts 1 and 2"), making for a smooth transition to her next appearance in "Becoming, Part 1" (2.21). She flatly rejects Xander's offer of a date, rather than being flustered by him.
Dru's brief betrayal of Spike and Angelus further marks Petrie's bold storytelling, yet – come to think of it – the backstabbing totally fits with her character.
Cementing "Ring of Fire's" status as a "Buffy" comic classic is the art by Ryan Sook, who inks and colors his own pencils, and who counts Petrie and Joss Whedon as admirers. I wouldn't rank him No. 1 for likenesses overall – everyone looks either dour or kind of nutty, but that works perfectly for Angelus and Giles at this point (and for his "Spike and Dru" comics).
However, Sook is hard to beat in terms of lighting and mood. For example, there's a panel of Angelus spying on Giles in a graveyard that is flawless, and it gets a payoff when Giles knows Angel is there. Because Angelus is so well hidden in the bushes in Sook's drawing, we appreciate Giles' skill set. I also gained an appreciation for his layout choices thanks to samples and a write-up by editor Scott Allie in the back of the graphic novel.
I wouldn't want Sook to draw every "Buffy" story, but he's the ideal choice for grim entries such as this one.
Comic booksBuffy/AngelThu, 09 Nov 2017 00:04:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/11/9/Buffy-flashback-The-Dust-Waltz-1998-and-Ring-of-Fire-2000‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘BTVS Classic’ Issues 21-27 (2000)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/11/8/Buffy-flashback-BTVS-Classic-Issues-2127-2000
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"Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic" finds its groove with <a href="http://buffy.wikia.com/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer_Classic" target="_blank">Issues 21-27 (May-November 2000),</a> ironically a time period when it doesn't have a regular writer (Andi Watson bowed out in Issue 19, and Fassbender/Pascoe start their run in Issue 28). As I noted in my review of the previous batch, novel writer Christopher Golden didn't hit a home run in his first couple efforts, but he shows he's a fast learner on the five-part "Blood of Carthage" (21-25), which has all the best traits of his "Buffy" books along with art by Cliff Richards and Joe Pimental that is growing on me.
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The comics' first venture into Season 4, "Blood of Carthage" is set after "Pangs" (4.8), as Spike makes reference to being tied up in a chair, and probably before "Something Blue" (4.9), as there is no mention of the crazy events of that episode where Buffy and Spike are under a love spell. Anya joins the comic for the first time. And in a nice tie-in to Golden and Nancy Holder's book "Immortal," so does the gang's ghost-Slayer friend Lucy Hanover and demon ally Tergazzi, who has purple skin and facial horns.
One of the themes running through the story is that Xander still sees Willow as his sidekick, something she quietly resents. Of course, it's Spike who sees this and spells it out to Xander. Flashback pages illustrate Willow and Xander's younger days while also showing an earlier appearance of Sunnydale's bogeyman, Mad Jack. (This is Golden's second go at a creature of Sunnydale urban myth, following "Halloween Rain.")
Drawn by Chynna Clugston-Major, the flashbacks show Willow and Xander when they are about 8 years old. They are heart-achingly cute, not only because of Clugston-Major's anime-esque art that perfectly captures the friends at that age, but also because the scenes are spot-on. In Issue 21, Sheila Rosenberg – in the mothering-from-a-textbook mode she demonstrates in "Gingerbread" (3.11), warns her daughter about Xander's influence.
Sheila: "I mean, honestly, Willow. If Xander jumped off a bridge, would you jump after him?"
Willow: "Uhm ... no?"
Sheila: "You don't sound so sure."
The overarching theme is that Buffy – after mistakenly killing a guardian demon in Issue 21 – resolves to put Slaying ahead of school. This is something that played as an undercurrent on the TV show (where eventually Buffy drifts away from college without much comment) but which Golden brings to the fore. Both sides of the argument are nicely illustrated in a scene in the girls' dorm room in Issue 23:
Willow: "If you leave (UC-Sunnydale), that's like saying you don't have any future other than slaying, that there's no Buffy anymore, just the Slayer."
Buffy: "The cost of not doing my homework on Mad Jack may be thousands of lives. I want a life. But I don't want anyone else to pay for it."
Golden also touches on the "Life is hard, period" theme that would dominate the end of Season 5 and all of Season 6. When Buffy tells Lucy in Issue 25 that "It's hard work, the whole living thing, like one long battle," it foreshadows her famous line to Dawn in "The Gift" (5.22): "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it." The writer nicely peppers this dialogue into the epic final fight against a massive, ancient demon, where our heroes are perched atop it like ants, trying to land blows. Such an image would become a cliché in the post-TV "Buffy" and "Angel" comics, which also generally don't do as good a job as Golden at balancing action and story.
Up next is another winner, Chris Boal's "The Heart of a Slayer" (26-27), which is set after "Hush" (4.10) – as Riley (making his comic debut) and Buffy know about each other's roles – but apparently before "A New Man" (4.12), when Buffy begins to work directly with Riley and The Initiative. Boal nicely taps into Buffy's inability to balance secret trysts with Riley with hangout time with Willow and Xander during this period. He also debuts Buffy's four-barreled stake-gun (perhaps courtesy of Riley), which can fire stakes like bullets.
The heart of the story is Adja, an 11th century Slayer who has chased a demon through time portals to present-day Sunnydale. We get good details about Adja: She speaks a Gothic language that Giles struggles to translate, and existed in a time before soap, judging by her "indelible odor," as Giles puts it. An exasperated Buffy wonders what's up with all the other Slayers (ironic, considering her actions in Season 7, when she chooses to share her power with hundreds of girls), referencing Faith, Kendra and a Slayer/vampire named Beth who must be from a comic that I haven't gotten to yet on this re-read.
After the demon rips out Adja's heart, which is also his undoing, Giles notes that her name translates to "One who is already dead." Additionally, Adja's terms for Buffy, "Nasjands," translates as "The Savior." While it's unintentional on Boal's part, this is a nice tie-in to Buffy's world-saving actions in Seasons 5 and 7. Perhaps Adja travels even farther into the future at one point while chasing the demon. Although the time portals and the fact that tearing out a Slayer's heart is the death-knell for this demon are not sufficiently explained, "Heart of a Slayer" has emotional depth and a saga-wide scope that makes it work.
Comic booksBuffy/AngelWed, 08 Nov 2017 00:42:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/11/8/Buffy-flashback-BTVS-Classic-Issues-2127-2000‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘BTVS Classic’ Issues 12-20 (1999-2000)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/11/7/Buffy-flashback-BTVS-Classic-Issues-1220-19992000
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<a href="http://buffy.wikia.com/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer_Classic" target="_blank">Issues 12-20 (August 1999-April 2000)</a> of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic" consist mostly of further "Buffy"-lite stylings from main writer Andi Watson. But this batch is also notable for bringing novels writer Christopher Golden and TV show writer Douglas Petrie into the fold.
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In "A Nice Girl Like You" (12), Golden -- who had previously written "The Origin" and the "Angel" miniseries -- immediately had me expecting a huge step up from Watson's work. An omniscient narrator pontificates about evil atop wide-angle shots of Sunnydale, and we meet a girl named Sandy who seems decent but for some reason hangs with the bad boys. But Golden stumbles to the finish line. As with the other new girl, Cynthia, in Issues 6-7, it turns out Sandy's a demon. Christian Zanier (pencils) and Andy Owens (inks) give atmosphere to the tale by showing the desolate streets of Sunnydale, and they're also the first artists to really nail Willow's likeness. But I can tell Golden is new to comics, as the words overpower the art.
The team returns for a more structurally confident sequel, "Food Chain" (16), although the story simply features one of the bad boys from Issue 12, Brad, worshipping another demon. But at least Brad has a reason for his actions beyond "He's bad": Similar to Anakin in the "Star Wars" prequels, he thinks the demon can save his mother's life. In a fun element to this issue, the gang plays volleyball at the beach -- they go to the beach once on the show, I think, in "Buffy vs. Dracula" (5.1) -- and in an amusing callback to "Go Fish" (2.20), Xander is wearing his swim-team Speedo.
"Double Cross" (20) is a landmark issue for the title, as a TV show writer pens a comic story for the first time. This gives the "Buffy" comic a stronger sense of continuity and canonicity, and it gets our hopes up for a great yarn. Set immediately after "Graduation Day, Part 2" (3.22), complete with scenes from the end of that ep, Petrie's tale is not bad, but it's just a quick character sketch. A death demon, who can be in two places at once, thinks the emotionally drained Buffy and Angel will be easy prey, but the former lovebirds realize in their "last thoughts" dream state that they need to split. Thus they go back to fighting the demon – and living. It's a nice grace note for Season 3.
The rest of this batch is Watson's "Bad Blood, Parts 4-9," in Issues 13-15 and 17-19. Storywise, this is more of the vampire Selke working with her sniveling captive doctor to perfect a magical type of blood that will increase her powers. A good illustration of the "throw it at the wall" nature of the storytelling comes in Issue 14 when the doc somehow knows about a vampire sect in Tijuana that worships a bone of a dead Slayer for the sake of protection. Entirely off-panel, Selke's hench-vamps grab the bone, then return to Sunnydale where the doc tries to create a Dark Buffy via magic.
Coming to a head in Issue 17, the concept of Dark Buffy infiltrating the gang and fighting the real Buffy has potential. However, Watson doesn't give us one-tenth of the mistaken-identity humor found in "Doppelgangland" (3.16) or the Buffy-bot episodes of Seasons 5-6. Dark Buffy is distinguished by an obsession with clothes and a lack of a moral compass; Giles compares her to Cordelia, rather harshly.
Another interesting element is the appearance of Spike and Drusilla in Issue 14. Off-screen in the wake of "Lovers Walk" (3.8), they got back together. They've returned to Sunnydale with the idea of watching Selke's plan from the shadows and then taking over the town after Selke has offed the Slayer. Since Selke ultimately fails, Spike and Dru end up doing nothing other than watching. To be fair, though, their mere presence does add spice to the long -- albeit brisk -- Selke saga; and, heck, it's worth it just for a Jeff Matsuda Spike-and-Dru cover.
Parts 4-9 of "Bad Blood" are distinguished from Watson's earlier work for being drawn by Cliff Richards (pencils) and Joe Pimentel (inks). They strike me as fast artists, delivering panels that get the job done but are less polished than those of Bennett/Ketcham or Gomez/Florea. Our heroes look good in some panels, not so much in others. Guy Major provides a boost with colors that always set the right mood. Richards/Pimentel abandon the earlier artists' concept of stylized vampires – green, scaly and sometimes bat-like – and stick closer to the TV show's design. (Weirdly, Selke wanting to look more human was the impetus for "Bad Blood." Turns out she needed only to have waited for a new art team.)
Although I didn't mind Bennett reimagining the look of "Buffy"-verse vampires (and Gomez continuing with it), lining up with the show's design ultimately makes sense. By the spring of 2000, the "Buffy" comics were wrapping up Season 3 and the TV show was wrapping up Season 4. As such, the comics could now work in the wake of the timeline rather than trying to stay even with it, and thus tie more directly into the show's narrative, so matching the styles is the right move.
Comic booksBuffy/AngelTue, 07 Nov 2017 02:43:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/11/7/Buffy-flashback-BTVS-Classic-Issues-1220-19992000‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘BTVS Classic’ Issues 1-11 (1998-99)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/11/4/Buffy-flashback-BTVS-Classic-Issues-111-199899
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Today, comics are the home for the further adventures of Buffy, but the Slayer and her friends got off to an inauspicious start in the medium with writer Andi Watson's <a href="http://buffy.wikia.com/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer_Classic" target="_blank">Issues 1-11 (September 1998-July 1999)</a> of the original series, now often called "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic." Whereas the novels expand the mythology as much as possible within the constraints of TV show continuity, the early comics contract the scope.
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The comic starts in the Archie mold, with each character filling a steady role; some are closer to their TV personalities than others. Buffy bickers with Giles about her duties. Giles looks things up on a shallow level, like researching "ghouls" rather than a specific cadre of ghouls. Willow is computer- and spell-girl. Xander is tougher and braver than we're used to, starting with his martial arts lessons in "Wu-Tang Fang" (1). Cordelia complains about being a Slayerette, yet is reliable. Angel conveniently lurks around. The most off-point character is Oz, who delivers sharp barbs like Xander, rather than being the laid-back nice guy. Amy randomly pops up in "Bad Blood, Part 3" (9) to cast a spell on a guy who snubs her, but the comic generally doesn't venture beyond the core seven; for example, Faith is not even mentioned.
As with the books, three continuity points help us place these 11 issues on the timeline: 1) Oz is a werewolf, 2) Everyone knows Angel is back, and 3) Xander and Cordelia are a couple. This means the stories can only take place between "Revelations" (3.7) and "Lovers Walk" (3.8). That works for a while, but Dark Horse also wanted the stories to reflect the calendar. So while "Halloween" (2), "Cold Turkey" (3) and "White Christmas" (4) could plausibly fit in that timeframe – if you use a surgical spreader between the two episodes – it's impossible for "Happy New Year" (5) to fit, since New Year 1999 happens after the Christmas episode "Amends" (3.10).
Watson's plots find a standard bad guy(s) in Sunnydale that Buffy and friends dispatch by the final panel. The villains never have any personal or metaphorical connection to the Scooby Gang. These early "Buffy" issues take a traditional superhero comic approach where time goes by but the characters work through the same short list of problems and worries without really growing. This is understandable since the gang was doing some serious growing up on the TV show, and the comics couldn't compete with that no matter what they did.
One idea presages a TV plot. In "White Christmas" (4), Buffy works at a mall popsicle stand to pay off Slaying-related damages to a car, a sneak-peek at Season 6, when she lands a job at Doublemeat Palace. Buffy's job as a model in Issue 9 ("Bad Blood, Part 1") is a more comic-y concept, but worth it for Cordy's reaction to the agent's interest in her less-fashionable frenemy. Some arcs rely on out-of-character motivations: Willow gives the silent treatment to Buffy for hurting a wolfed-out Oz (5, "Happy New Year"), and Joyce considers plastic surgery (9, "Bad Blood, Part 1").
The most fun plot, at first glance, is in "New Kid on the Block" (6-7), co-written by Dan Brereton. But the mystery of new girl Cynthia fizzles -- she's just a demon lining up girls at a slumber party for a vampire buffet. "Final Cut" (8) is fun for the way everyone gets involved with a low-budget movie, although it also suggests that single-issue yarns are inevitably going to lack depth.
Trivia buffs might find it interesting to know the gang's Halloween costumes in Issue 2, since Season 3 didn't have a Halloween episode. Buffy goes as Jason from "Friday the 13th," Xander is a classical vampire and Oz is a shark (Willow is kidnapped by vampires, and therefore misses out on dressing up).
These early comics do some blatant things to be different from their source material. It's ironic that a couple years later, Joss Whedon would instruct the "Angel" title to embrace the comic-book medium rather than mimicking the TV show, because from the start, "Buffy" pencilers/inkers Joe Bennett/Rick Ketcham (1-3, 9-11) and Hector Gomez/Sandu Florea (4-7) revel in the fact that this is a comic. I like the teams' art about equally, with Bennett/Ketcham bringing more kinetic energy and Gomez/Florea delivering richer panels, although Bennett perhaps deserves the bulk of the credit (and blame, if you're critical) for establishing the title's ongoing traits.
Although the Sarah Michelle Gellar likeness is decent, Buffy is leggy and sexy, particularly as drawn by Bennett. Xander is beefed up to the point where I sometimes can't tell him apart from Angel (admittedly, Nicholas Brendon was buff, but the TV show downplayed that with his wardrobe). Cordelia looks the most like her TV counterpart. Oz and Giles are too muscular, but their wardrobes make them pop. The artists struggle a bit with Willow; I generally figure out she's the girl who's not Buffy or Cordy. Principal Snyder is so far off base that I have to assume the artists didn't have the rights to Armin Shimmerman's likeness.
Buffy's stakings are creative, including the use of an apparently wooden high heel in Issue 1, and the green cloud of dust works well as a dusting "special effect." The vampires – who have glowing red eyes -- are gray-skinned if they are freshly turned, green if they are older, and reminiscent of "Batman's" Man-Bat if they are ancient. Indeed, the vampire Selke gradually decomposes as she goes longer without fresh blood, leading to the plot of "Bad Blood" (9-11), where she recruits an unwilling scientist to make her look young again. However, age doesn't equate to power here, like it does in the TV mythology, as with the facially blood-stained Master in Season 1 or the cloven-hooved Kakistos, the bane of Faith's existence in "Faith, Hope and Trick" (3.3). Whatever these Bennett-verse vampires look like, Buffy stakes them with equal aplomb.
While Sunnydale sometimes being called "Sunnyvale" is a mistake, it's clearly Bennett's stylistic choice to give The Bronze a massive façade complete with gargoyles and to outfit the library with a floor-to-ceiling window. I found it jarring at first blush, but soon embraced the stylization. Indeed, there's little to argue with about the art, but in these 11 issues, story is treated like little more than a necessary foundation for the visually pleasing panels.
Comic booksBuffy/AngelSat, 04 Nov 2017 00:24:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/11/4/Buffy-flashback-BTVS-Classic-Issues-111-199899‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘The Origin’ (1999)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/11/2/Buffy-flashback-The-Origin-1999
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Dark Horse's "Buffy" comics have been canonical for the past decade, but the first story that is officially part of the canon came out much earlier: <a href="http://buffy.wikia.com/wiki/The_Origin" target="_blank">"The Origin"</a> (January-March 1999) takes Joss Whedon's script for the 1992 movie, translates it into a three-issue comic series and gives it the necessary tweaks to fit with the universe and timeline of the TV show.
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Whedon was in a difficult position with the movie: He wanted to distance himself from it, because he didn't like the comedic direction and some of the performances (particularly Donald Sutherland's). On the other hand – aside from specifics such as Buffy's year in school and what happens to vampires when they are staked – the movie is the backstory to the TV series.
In Buffy's first meeting with Principal Flutie in "Welcome to the Hellmouth" (Season 1, episode 1), he is concerned that she burned down the gym of her Los Angeles school (something that doesn't happen in the movie, but does in "The Origin"). In "Becoming, Part 1" (2.21), we see a remake of the scene of a candy-sucking Buffy being discovered by Merrick, her first Watcher – of course with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy and Richard Riehle as Merrick, replacing Kristy Swanson and Sutherland.
Although adapted by novel writer Christopher Golden and Dan Brereton rather than Whedon himself, "Buffy's" inventor mostly praised "The Origin": "The origin comic, though I have issues with it, CAN pretty much be accepted as canonical. They did a cool job of combining the movie script (the SCRIPT) with the series; that was nice, and using the series Merrick and not a certain OTHER thespian who shall remain hated."
Part of why Whedon didn't flat-out reshoot Buffy's origin story (perhaps as a flashback episode) is because he chose to revisit the ideas in Season 1. For example, Buffy has dreams of past Slayers at the start of both stories. Pike has to kill his best-friend-turned-vampire, Benny, just as Xander has to dispatch Jesse in "Welcome to the Hellmouth." The Big Bad, Lothos (who is often called "The Master"), is trapped beneath the school, waiting for his minions to garner enough power to raise him – and when he does rise, the scene looks the same as The Master's rise in "Prophecy Girl" (1.12).
Lothos and The Master see Buffy the same way: As the latest incarnation of the Slayer, whom they will kill yet again. At the end of both arcs, Buffy wins not because she's a Slayer, but because she's Buffy – someone with ingenuity and friend(s). Merrick suggests that Buffy should feel like she is part of a lineage ("Did you ever dream that you were someone else?"), and certainly her dreams are powerful. But as the saga goes forward, Buffy's dreams of past Slayers diminish, and she embraces her individuality.
In both "The Origin" and Season 1, Buffy is torn between her calling and her desire for a real life, particularly getting ticked off about her Slayer duties in the final act. (Interestingly, Buffy's "Origin" dress for the climactic dance is blue, whereas she wears a white dress – and later a leather jacket over it -- in the movie, resembling her choice in "Prophecy Girl.") While Whedon was obviously revisiting thematic points for the sake of the new TV audience, it's not at all odd that Buffy would work through these issues a second time, since life isn't a series of precise steps to be completed.
In terms of specific scenes, though, Golden and Brereton try to avoid copies. A scene in Whedon's script – as reflected by Richie Tankersley Cusick's August 1992 novelization – finds Buffy tricking a vampire in the final battle by threatening to open a window to the sunrise, when it's actually four hours too early. She does the same thing in "Welcome to the Hellmouth," which is no doubt why Golden and Brereton discard it from "The Origin."
Other discards streamline "The Origin" while also matching up with Season 1's new rules. The comic excises references to a birthmark on a Slayer's shoulder, and cramps tipping a Slayer off to the presence of vampires.
It seems Whedon was still working out the breadth of the role of Watchers when he wrote the movie script. "The Origin" adjusts a scene from page 90 of Tankersley Cusick's novelization. In the book, we learn that Merrick grew up in England, where "My father taught me about the training, about finding the Slayers, reading the signs. There's a small cluster of us, a few families, really. Most of the neighboring villagers think we're just a bunch of harmless old loonies." In Issue 2 of the comic, the writers allow for the existence of a bigger Watchers' Council. Merrick says: "My father taught me everything about the training, and the legends, and research, and a lot of subtleties the Council never bothered with."
"The Origin," like the novelization, includes Merrick's mention that he "trained" five girls "to be Slayers." The phrasing allows for the notion that he trained five Potentials, which is more likely than one Watcher being assigned to five Slayers. However, he notes that they were "all ripped apart," which fits with the idea that they were Slayers rather than mere Potentials – who would be unlikely to get into real fights against vampires or demons. (Since Merrick never appears in another story as the Watcher of past Slayers, though, we have to assume they were Potentials.)
Besides Buffy, the only other character to jump from "The Origin" to the TV series is Joyce, who was simply known as Buffy's mom in the movie. Brereton and Golden somewhat downplay Joyce and Hank's lax parenting from Whedon's script, but it's clear that Buffy is raised as a latchkey kid while her folks go to important functions. In Tankersley Cusick's novelization, Joyce asks Buffy if she has any idea what time it is. Buffy fears she'll be in trouble for getting home late, but her mom is just concerned that her watch stopped.
"The Origin" includes the clever, against-the-grain dialogue Whedon is known for. Buffy's friend, brainstorming environmental themes for the dance, says "What about the ozone layer?" "Right, we gotta get rid of that!" Buffy replies. Whedon further plays up the "ditzy girl" aspect of his "ditzy-girl-turned-superhero" arc by having all of Buffy's male counterparts see her as a sexual object. Andy asks Buffy's boyfriend, Jeffrey, "Could I just borrow her for a while?" The girls AND boys are so vacuous that Lothos assumes Buffy will be no threat simply because of the environment she comes from.
Intentional or not, Buffy's lack of true friends – and the fact that she doesn't totally warm up to Pike (as she's understandably distracted by other things) -- gives a sad quality to "The Origin." But this is ultimately a good thing. It makes us happy to see Xander, Willow and Giles on the final panel, as Buffy concludes telling this story to them.
While all of Buffy's Cordelia-esque friends are easily (and perhaps intentionally) forgotten, there is one supporting player who stands out. Pike (who is drawn somewhat like the movie's Luke Perry, since there's no TV version of the character) is a good-hearted gearhead who admires Buffy from afar and stays in town to help her. He's a potential love interest and a reliable sidekick. Some reviewers have said Pike fills the damsel-in-distress role in Whedon's gender-role-reversing script, but he holds his own enough to at least put him on par with Xander.
While Whedon was not interested in further exploring Pike, he did allow the novels and comics to use him. Pike is still by Buffy's side in "The Origin" comic-book sequel "Viva Las Buffy!" (Issues 51-54 of the original series), and he pops up later in the timeline in the comic "Notes from the Underground" and the novel "Sins of the Father."
From the pencils of Joe Bennett and the inks of Rick Ketcham, "The Origin" features even more stylized vampires than most "Buffy" comics, some looking much more demonic than human (as always with the comics, the vampires are green). This is an odd choice for a comic with the specific aim of mimicking the TV show's style and character portrayals. I don't mind it – it is a comic, after all – and some have said that since "The Origin" is Buffy's telling of the events to Willow, Xander and Giles, that explains the embellishments.
"The Origin" includes two mistakes: A headstone in Issue 1 says a student died in 1990, rather than 1996, and Pike is given vampire-style speech bubbles in Issue 3. Otherwise, "The Origin" is a respectable debut for our favorite Slayer. Lacking so many characters we love, it doesn't come close to overshadowing the TV show, but it gives us the foundation of Buffy's hero's journey.
Comic booksBuffy/AngelThu, 02 Nov 2017 01:27:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/11/2/Buffy-flashback-The-Origin-1999‘Batman’ flashback: ‘The Long Halloween’ (1996-97)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/10/31/Batman-flashback-The-Long-Halloween-199697
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(Note to readers: This is part of a series where I look back at various works of "Batman" lore from the perspective of a casual "Batman" fan who enjoys the current TV series, "Gotham.")
In addition to its titular tie-in to the holiday, I found <a href="http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/The_Long_Halloween" target="_blank">"The Long Halloween"</a> (1996-97) to be a good "Batman" story to read now because it gives us comic-book portrayals of most of the rogues' gallery to contrast with what we know from "Gotham." At 13 issues, it's not a one-sitting read, but it's much less decompressed than the four-issue "Dark Knight Returns." Writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale use big panels and colorist Gregory Wright favors black-and-white (even though it's a color comic) to create a noir-soaked collection that flows like "Year One," at least when read today. When it came out, this story was released over a 13-month span, so it must've felt like a very slow-burn yarn.
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The mystery – who is the Holiday killer? – is engaging and the character arcs are as dense as they should be, yet "The Long Halloween" is easy to follow. Additionally, "The Long Halloween" is the origin story of Two-Face on the timeline launched by "Year One." (The Batman Wiki tells me that "Batman Annual" No. 14, from 1990, first told this story, from a different angle.) Two-Face is the one major villain "Gotham" has avoided; I think this is in part because Harvey Dent so clearly becomes Two-Face AFTER Bruce Wayne has assumed the Batman mantle (there's arguably some wiggle room with other villains), and in part because Christopher Nolan's films so recently told Two-Face's origin story (and even that came close on the heels of the Burton/Schumacher saga's telling).
The comic presents a Gotham ruled by Carmine "The Roman" Falcone's crime empire, something familiar to fans of the current season of "Gotham." The comics' Falcone is more in the ruthless Italian mobster mode than John Doman's calm turn on the TV series, not because of a difference in behavior, but because we see behind the scenes of his empire rather than being limited to sly conversations with Jim Gordon. Most surprising to me is his daughter, Sophia Falcone Gigante, who is indeed a musclebound giant, quite a contrast to the lithe and gorgeous Crystal Reed on the TV show.
Maybe "Gotham" will mutate Sophia via the Indian Hills chemical spill as it recently did with henchman-for-hire Butch Gilzean, who transforms into Solomon Grundy in the current Season 4. I didn't know about this mid-level rogue before "Gotham," and in "The Long Halloween" I don't know much more about him other than that he's a large nutjob who lives in the sewers and repeats that he was "born on a Monday." His personality and lifestyle reminds me a bit of the unpredictable Leatherhead from the Mirage "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" comics.
The Penguin only makes a cameo at the end when Two-Face frees a bunch of rogues from Arkham Asylum. (He flips a coin to determine the release of each prisoner, and conveniently, it lands on heads for all our favorite baddies.) But most of the other A-list rogues serve the yarn in a way that ties in with the major holiday from each month. For example, the green-favoring Poison Ivy seduces Bruce on St. Patrick's Day, and the Riddler attempts to untangle the Holiday mystery on April Fool's Day. Batman consults Julian Day, a.k.a. Calendar Man, a few times in Arkham; he might be the most significant rogue who hasn't been referenced at all on "Gotham."
Catwoman isn't a villain here – she's on her own side, as always – but she tries her darnedest to get Batman to run away from Gotham with her and start a new life. On the final panel of "Chapter 10: Independence," Batman ruminates that avoiding a relationship with Catwoman is "the price of independence."
As we delve into Bruce's guilt about his mother's death (he suggested she wear her pearls to the movies on that fateful night) in "Chapter 8: Mother's Day," and learn about Thomas Wayne's relationship with the Falcone family in "Chapter 9: Father's Day," it's clear that "The Long Halloween" is an excellent piece of "Batman" comic lore to read after "Year One." Indeed, this feels like Year Two (although there is a different comic by that name).
The mystery is strong – I didn't guess any of the killers by the end, but it all makes sense – as is the portrayal of how the good guys investigate the killings. I like how Batman, Captain Gordon and district attorney Harvey Dent make a rooftop pact to work together to bring down the Falcone crime enterprise. Indeed, Nolan acknowledges in an introduction in the 2011 trade paperback that he borrowed the concept of a good-guy triumvirate for his "Dark Knight" film trilogy, although he used Rachel Dawes in place of Dent in the first movie, and then chronicled Dent's tragic fall in the second movie.
Despite its title, "The Long Halloween" isn't a Halloween-focused yarn, so there are better "Batman" titles to read that are specific to the holiday or that aim for a horror mood, perhaps the "Legends of the Dark Knight" Halloween specials. But this is the origin story of Two-Face on this timeline, Batman and Gordon are in fine brooding form early in their careers, and the spark between Batman and Catwoman is significant. The hold on Gotham by the Falcone and (to a lesser extent) Maroni crime families is palpable, but with most of the rogues – Poison Ivy for example -- we just get a taste of their comic-book personalities that makes us want to delve further into the lore.
"The Long Halloween" is an essential "Batman" story that hasn't aged a day since it hit comic-book shelves 20 years ago, except for the fact that we can now see how many subsequent projects it has influenced.
BatmanComic booksTue, 31 Oct 2017 00:04:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/10/31/Batman-flashback-The-Long-Halloween-199697‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980) and ‘Return of the Jedi’ (1983) comicshttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/9/13/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Empire-Strikes-Back-1980-and-Return-of-the-Jedi-1983-comics
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My look back at the "Star Wars" saga comic adaptations concludes with the best and the most disappointing entries, both from the legendary duo of Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson ("Classic Star Wars"), along with background artist Carlos Garzon: <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Marvel_Special_Edition_2:_The_Empire_Strikes_Back" target="_blank">"Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back"</a> (1980) and <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Return_of_the_Jedi_(TPB)" target="_blank">"Episode VI: Return of the Jedi"</a> (1983). "Empire" is exactly what we want from an adaptation – the spirit of film, without being a mere copy – while "Jedi" fails mostly because it's too short.
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As with the Thomas/Chaykin adaptation of "A New Hope," the pleasure of reading "Empire" is that it captures the excitement of the film but it's not exactly the same, thus allowing for delightful surprises and insight into communications with the filmmakers. The comic has a different opening crawl, Dak is killed earlier in the snowspeeder battle, and a scout on a tauntaun frantically runs ahead of the lead Imperial walker.
Most notably, Han and Leia's exchange in the carbon-freezing chamber is the screenplay's placeholder version:
Leia: "Han ... oh, Han! I love you! I couldn't tell you before, but it's true!"
Han: "Just remember that, Leia, 'cause I'll be back."
This interests me for three reasons: First, it shows how perfect films like "Empire" undergo the process of being perfected right up until the end, as Harrison Ford and director Irvin Kershner improvised the iconic "I love you"/"I know" on the set. Second, while "I'll be back" isn't as good of a line as "I know," it possibly could've become iconic, and thus required James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger to come up with something different four years later in "The Terminator."
Third, the comic version smacks of Padme's line to Anakin in "Attack of the Clones": "I truly, deeply love you, and before we die I want you to know." While Leia's unspoken attraction works better than Padme's for a variety of reasons, the similarity of these two exchanges shows how George Lucas was stuck on the notion that the female lead naturally likes the male lead and is just reluctant to admit it.
Folks who have seen the deleted scenes on the 2011 Blu-ray will be familiar with bonus material in the comic, notably the longer Han-and-Leia exchange in the Echo Base hallway. It comes off much harsher than the brisk back-and-forth in the finished film, where a viewer feels like the duo somewhat enjoys bickering.
Also longer is Leia's conversation with Luke as he's resting after the bacta treatment. It ends with the infamous kiss. (Interestingly, the Han-Luke-Leia love triangle, combined with the fact that Han and Luke are close friends, works very well. We tend to forget this because we're grossed out when we learn Luke and Leia are siblings.)
Oddly, Goodwin and Williamson include part of the wampas-in-Echo-Base thread, but they don't include the punchline where C-3PO removes a warning sign from a door, leading to snowtroopers being slaughtered by the wampa inside.
Speaking of wampas, we don't see the face of the snow beast that attacks Luke (we do briefly in the 1980 film, and liberally in the 1997 Special Edition). We only see the inside of the space slug's teeth, and we don't see a clear picture of the Emperor at all. One wonders if Lucasfilm asked Williamson to preserve those surprises for the film.
Although "Empire" ran in Marvel's "Star Wars" Issues 39-44, from June through November 1980, the adaptation debuted in its entirety in May, the same month the movie. (By comparison, the six-issue "A New Hope" adaptation came out partially before and partially after the movie's release, and was collected in a single volume later.)
"Empire's" initial collected version is awkwardly called <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Marvel_Comics_Illustrated_Version_of_The_Empire_Strikes_Back" target="_blank">"The Marvel Comics Illustrated Version of The Empire Strikes Back,"</a> and it's infamous for having the "wrong" Yoda. Williamson was working from Ralph McQuarrie's concept designs, so he drew a purple, long-haired Yoda who is notably tiny. Goodwin calls him a "gnome-like creature," and even in the "corrected" panels of Issues 39-44 (and all reprints since then), there remain wide-angle shots that depict the gnome-sized Yoda.
"Empire" clocks in at a little over 100 pages, which – as with 1977's "A New Hope" and the prequel adaptations – is a good length for a movie adaptation.
But for whatever reason, "Return of the Jedi" is only 66 pages long. (Some "Jedi" trade paperbacks are similar in length to the other films, but those are padded out with full-page sketches and production art.) It was published as <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Marvel_Comics_Illustrated_Version_of_Return_of_the_Jedi" target="_blank">"The Marvel Comics Illustrated Version of Return of the Jedi"</a> in the May 1983, and then as a four-issue series outside the main Marvel numbering system from October 1983 through January 1984.
I don't know why it's only four issues – perhaps film adaptation sales were lagging at the time? – but it clearly hurts the product. Goodwin squeezes the story into the allotted space, hurting the flow and character arcs. Making things weirder, it seems to have been written before the screenplay was finalized yet drawn after the film was printed, as Williamson mimics numerous production stills. Suggesting that those stills were in black-and-white, though, Oola is colored in Caucasian tones rather than green.
Granted, this is still Williamson and Garzon, so – although the colors are unflatteringly darker than on "Empire" – the pages are aesthetically pleasing. But either because he was working from an early draft or because he tried to condense the dialog, Goodwin's script struggles. In the comic, Obi-Wan tells Luke that Leia is his sister (so we miss out on Luke guessing it), and then he nudges Luke into fighting Vader with the threat that Vader might turn Leia to the dark side (a threat that Vader later uses on Luke, too, of course). Then Luke tells Leia about their siblinghood, but we don't get her important "Somehow I've always known" response.
(In what's more of a historical curiosity than a misstep, Obi-Wan claims he met Anakin during the Clone Wars. For more insight into Lucas' unpolished vision for "Episode III," see Leia's impossible memories of her mother in the "Jedi" novelization by James Kahn.)
Goodwin leaves out the scene of Leia strangling Jabba – did Marvel deem it too violent? – although Adam Hughes' cover art on <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Classic_Star_Wars:_Return_of_the_Jedi_1" target="_blank">Dark Horse's 1994 reprint of Issues 1 and 2</a> does capture the iconic scene of the slave girl choking the slug. Further making up for the omission, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Manga:_Return_of_the_Jedi_2" target="_blank">Issue 2 of the four-issue manga adaptation (1999)</a> also spotlights the scene.
Leia again gets short shrift in the back half of the tale when her meeting with Wicket is skipped. In fact, Wicket isn't in the adaptation at all, although Goodwin does misidentify speeder-bike thief Paploo as Wicket.
As with "Empire," Lucasfilm presumably asked Goodwin to skip or censor three scenes to preserve the filmgoing surprise: Yoda's death, Anakin's face, and the appearance of the Force ghosts. It's interesting to think of an alternate narrative where Luke departs Dagobah with Yoda being old and tired, and then after Luke defeats Vader and the Emperor, Yoda appears as a Force ghost, as if he was holding on until peace was achieved. There's nothing wrong with the film version, but that might've been a powerful way to tell the story, too.
Rather than ripping Goodwin's whole script, I should point out one line that is better than the film's. C-3PO says "Poor Lando Calrissian never returned from this place! Why couldn't Chewbacca deliver this message?" This makes more sense than Threepio's line in the film -- "Lando Calrissian and poor Chewbacca never returned from this awful place" -- seeing as how Chewbacca enters the palace later as part of the infiltration scheme with Leia. Granted, C-3PO is purposely left out of the loop by our heroes, but his belief that Chewie already went to Jabba's palace is hard to explain.
There's also an intriguing bonus line. Jabba tells Luke: "I was killing your kind when being a Jedi meant something!" This is a great tie-in to "The Clone Wars" movie and TV series, even though I can't recall a specific instance of Jabba killing a Jedi (though he certainly tries).
In 1997, Dark Horse redid "A New Hope" in order to add the Special Edition scenes (ironically, because it's too short, it has many of "Jedi's" problems). The one it really needed to redo was "Jedi," with a proper page count.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksWed, 13 Sep 2017 01:08:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/9/13/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Empire-Strikes-Back-1980-and-Return-of-the-Jedi-1983-comics‘Star Wars’ flashback: The ‘A New Hope’ original (1977) and Special Edition (1997) comic adaptationshttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/9/11/Star-Wars-flashback-The-A-New-Hope-original-1977-and-Special-Edition-1997-comic-adaptations
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"Star Wars' " comic book history naturally started with <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Classic_Star_Wars:_A_New_Hope_(TPB)" target="_blank">"Episode IV: A New Hope"</a> (1977), and the adaptation by writer Roy Thomas and artist Howard Chaykin is still a fun read today for its vibrant energy. Plus, it gains serious kitsch value for its odd departures from what we now understand to be the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Thomas and Chaykin were getting to know "Star Wars" at the same time as everyone else. While they were bumped from the Marvel comics after Issue 10 in part because George Lucas didn't like their work, their six-issue "A New Hope" adaptation is still widely loved for both quality and nostalgia.
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Thomas and Chaykin get the spirit of the film right, but not with a straight copying of the script. Especially when introducing each issue, Thomas comments as if he's an outside observer. At the start of Issue 4, right after our heroes free Princess Leia, Thomas tells the reader: "We're kind of in a hurry, so pay attention ..." When Luke and Han "accidentally" let Chewbacca loose and pretend to shoot at him, Thomas notes that "their enthusiasm (was) undeniable, their aim execrable." The creative team captures the mysterious element of those early days of getting to know "Star Wars" when Chaykin zeroes in on a TIE fighter pilot and Thomas waxes: "Within the short-range starships of the Empire, air-giving helmets hide all life, all emotion."
These are prime example of how Thomas complements Chaykin's action-packed art with well-chosen words. Additionally, Thomas adds dialog for the sake of explanation, and the extra words enjoyably bring the dime-store flavor to the surface. For example: "This control box will pop you out into the open!" and "Touch the brightly colored button up there by the pommel."
They get many details about Lucas' vision "wrong" – most of which I don't blame them for, because how could they know? I see these incorrect elements as features rather than bugs. I have no need to watch "A New Hope" ever again (due to overfamiliarity), but I enjoyed re-reading this comic because it's a different enough take on the material to be fascinating.
Thomas invents his own "Star Warsian" words and phrases (solar fin, grappling rays, repair pod, technico) that didn't catch on; however, the idea of having GFFA-specific words and phrases would endure throughout the Expanded Universe era. (When Disney took over, it switched to mostly Earth-based words.) Sometimes he uses the wrong term, such as starfighter instead of blockade runner, a reminder that before "Star Wars" codified it, "starfighter" was a vague term, rather than meaning a small, one-man craft.
It's apparent that – as with most comic adaptations – the creators weren't working from the finalized script and stills. The script differences are mostly trivial, such as the ID of the stormtrooper posted outside the Falcon and the number of the trash compactor. (The fact that Lucas waffled on minor details is an early indication of a slightly autistic perfectionist streak that manifested 20 years later with the Special Editions.)
Other alterations have good reasons, such as Blue Group becoming Red Group because blue stripes became invisible in the blue-screen process. Oddly, the colorists (several are credited throughout the series) know to give the X-wings red stripes but the dialog maintains the "Blue" designations.
Some things are drawn or colored differently, including Tarkin (Chaykin can't quite nail Peter Cushing's likeness), Ponda Baba, Garindan, Jabba the Hutt (here he's the Nimbanel who would be reimagined as Mosep Binneed), the torture droid (it's bipedal), a spaceship flying around the Death Star (it looks like the Star Tours ship), the Millennium Falcon's cockpit (it's too roomy), the portrayal of lightspeed (a sequence of colored bars), the Death Star's color (white, like a space Technodrome) and Ben Kenobi's demise (he seems to melt at the point of Vader's lightsaber more so than vanish).
This adaptation gives hints of what Lucas was refining till the last moment, as several not-quite-right character and story traits make it into the comic. In her message, Leia calls Obi-Wan a commander, rather than a general. Darth Vader holds a beverage in the conference room, as if he can drink through his respirator. Later known as Jek Porkins, the portly pilot is called Lieutenant Tono Porkins here, and nicknamed "Piggy." (The retcon is that his full name is Jek Tono Porkins.) The Rebel Alliance celebration includes banners of planets loyal the Rebellion; more accurately, this rebellion happened covertly – there was no outright secession.
Vader is subservient to Tarkin, calling him "sir"; by the time of the finished film, Vader and Tarkin are equals, each with his own area of expertise, for which they show mutual respect. Obi-Wan talks about himself during the lightsaber duel, noting that he "has grown much since our parting." While the point is accurate, it's out of character for him to give away the truth (when he does reveal something, it's a half-truth at best). In the finished film, he focuses on Vader's failings, such as being "only a master of evil."
Although not as interesting today, as the deleted scenes were made available on the 2011 Blu-ray, the 1977 comic adaptation features the Biggs scenes, plus Red Leader (Blue Leader in the comic) recognizing Luke's last name because he had met his father. And of course the Jabba scene (albeit with Binneed) was a deleted scene until the 1997 Special Edition.
I don't know if these are early movie draft elements or Thomas' embellishments, but here are three fun moments: When the group gets out of the trash compactor and Han shoots back at the dianoga, we see the creature's tentacle in the frame. When the X-wing technician says "We're about ready, Skyboy," it makes me think of Ahsoka calling Anakin "Skyguy" in "The Clone Wars." And while Chewbacca doesn't get a medal in the ceremony, Thomas notes that he'll get one later: "He'll have to put it on himself. Few space-princesses are THAT tall."
The sometimes insane cover embellishments (the 1970s comic equivalent of today's clickbait headlines) also qualify as alterations of sorts, allowing a reader to think about storytelling paths not taken. Issue 1 asks "Will Luke Skywalker save the galaxy or destroy it?," as the cover designer dips his toes into the notion that there's a fine line between the light and dark sides of the Force. Indeed, that would be an appropriate teaser for "Dark Empire."
Issue 2's cover features an all-out brawl in the cantina, Issue 4 imagines Luke trying to help Obi-Wan fight Darth Vader, Issue 5 finds the Death Star attacking the Yavin base with a volley of smaller beams rather than the planet destroyer, and Issue 6 teases a Luke-Vader lightsaber duel (something that Marvel would get to just before "The Empire Strikes Back").
For the 20th anniversary, and to tie in with the Special Edition movie release, Dark Horse understandably wanted to do a new adaptation in 1997. The plan was to tap Al Williamson, who penciled Marvel's "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" adaptations in the 1980s, so he could complete his trilogy. Interestingly, he started an "A New Hope" adaptation for the newspaper strip back in the day before taking another gig. But a Williamson trilogy stayed tantalizingly out of reach, as he couldn't commit to the Special Edition either (he did end up sharing inking duties with two others, so he did work on adaptations of all three films, but only technically).
There's not much else to say about Dark Horse's <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_A_New_Hope_-_The_Special_Edition" target="_blank">"Special Edition"</a> adaptation. It's 96 pages across four issues, which is only eight pages shorter than the Marvel version, but it can be read much faster because writer Bruce Jones and penciler Eduardo Barreto adapt the shooting script straight-up. Jones cuts many lines of dialog; by editing for space, he unfortunately removes the flow.
The Jabba scene is in there, as are Greedo shooting first and the ronto and ASP droid shenanigans on the Mos Eisley streets. But the scene with Biggs, Luke and Red Leader in the Massassi hangar is missing, reflecting the fact that Lucas decided to re-install that scene later in the process. He never entertained the idea of including the Tatooine Biggs scenes in the Special Edition, despite clamor from fans.
As such, in terms of bonus scenes and unusual insights into the material, the original version – which was dramatically recolored by Marvel in 2015 -- is more of a "special edition" than the actual Special Edition. For a serious "Star Wars" fan, it's easily the more entertaining and nostalgic reading experience. The 1997 version isn't all that great for newcomers, because it rushes through the story so fast that lines of dialog have to be cut. An ideal adaptation would be somewhere between the two extremes; perhaps the manga edition (which I haven't read yet) fits the bill.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 11 Sep 2017 03:15:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/9/11/Star-Wars-flashback-The-A-New-Hope-original-1977-and-Special-Edition-1997-comic-adaptations‘Star Wars’ flashback: The prequel trilogy comic adaptations (1999-2005)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/9/10/Star-Wars-flashback-The-prequel-trilogy-comic-adaptations-19992005
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I feel the "Star Wars" prequel films get a little more stagey and theatrical – or to be harsher, a little sloppier -- as they go along, but the comic adaptations are the opposite: They get progressively better. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Episode_I_%E2%80%94_The_Phantom_Menace" target="_blank">"Episode I: The Phantom Menace"</a> (1999) is a flat retelling, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Episode_II_%E2%80%94_Attack_of_the_Clones" target="_blank">"Episode II: Attack of the Clones"</a> (2002) has vibrant art but can't overcome another bland script, and <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Episode_III_--_Revenge_of_the_Sith" target="_blank">"Episode III: Revenge of the Sith"</a> (2005) is poetic and beautiful.
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Henry Gilroy would go on to be a solid writer on comics and "The Clone Wars," but his adaptations of Episodes I and II are unimaginative, either because he was still learning or because he had tough deadlines and – having not seen the films, which were unfinished at the time -- a poor grasp of what to emphasize as George Lucas introduced new eras of "Star Wars": first Anakin's youth and the waning glory days of the Republic, then the start of the Clone Wars.
Although I have no trouble telling which characters are which in "The Phantom Menace," Rodolpho Damaggio's likenesses are short on emotion. Al Williamson's inks and Dave Nestelle's colors help, but there's not much energy, even in action scenes like the podrace and the Darth Maul duel. If a reader had not seen the film, they wouldn't be able to tell precisely how Anakin wins the race or how Obi-Wan defeats Maul. John Williams' music played in my head during the final panel of the Theed City celebration, not because it is evocative – it's just a single, wide-angle shot -- but because it so desperately needs inserts of smiling heroes and Boss Nass yelling "Peace!"
On "Attack of the Clones," Jan Duursema – best known for the Clone Wars stories in "Republic" -- delivers her usual energetic layouts by varying the size of panels and the figures and objects in them. Ray Kryssing's inks and colors by six different contributors are as unflattering to her art as I've ever seen, but still, it's Duursema, so everyone looks right and moves with purpose.
Written by Miles Lane with pencils and inks by Doug Wheatley (later known for "Dark Times") and colors by Christopher Chuckry, "Revenge of the Sith" has no problems other than those already present in the movie script. Each panel looks like a moody painting, and this complements the Shakespearean tragedy of the story rather than working against it, as the straightforward lighting of the film does.
The artists provide emotion when it's needed, such as Padme crying or Sidious scowling, but Lane also does his part. Whereas Gilroy translated one medium to another with narration that's often there when it's not needed and absent when it is needed, Lane knows when to narrate and when to let the art do the talking. For example, he writes "A short while later ..." on the panel of Obi-Wan boarding Padme's ship bound for Mustafar, as opposed to "A short while later, Obi-Wan boards Padme's ship bound for Mustafar."
Each adaptation is a different length, even though they were all published as four-issue series. "Episode I" is 122 pages, "Episode II" is 144 pages and "Episode III" is 96 pages. There are no bonus scenes in "Clones" such as the novelization's scenes of Padme's family. Rather, the story is allowed to breathe more than the other two, and Duursema is given room for more splash pages or partial splash pages. I'm guessing the short page count of "Sith" came about because there's a tradeoff if you hire Wheatley: His art is unparalleled, but he's notoriously slow.
"Menace" has the most differences from its film counterpart: Sebulba speaks basic and appears to be killed in the podrace; some of Jar Jar's lines are slightly different, suggesting that George Lucas and Ahmed Best made tweaks when recording dialogue; and Anakin warns that Jar Jar will be turned into "green goo" instead of the more logical "orange goo." "Clones" has some extended dialogue, such as librarian Jocasta Nu chatting with Obi-Wan about Count Dooku and Padme mentioning an old boyfriend to Anakin.
"Sith" has the most important additions, even if one of them is clunky: Qui-Gon communicates with Yoda just before Yoda tells Obi-Wan about this particular Force ability. "The Clone Wars" would later reveal that Yoda had trained with Qui-Gon BEFORE this scene, so Lucas apparently changed his mind on that detail. The panel of Yoda on Dagobah in the closing montage is essential, and I still can't understand why it's not in the film itself.
The prequel comic adaptations are a passable way to relive the films, and while it's hard for a fan to resist having them in their collection, they are by no means essential reads.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSun, 10 Sep 2017 13:49:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/9/10/Star-Wars-flashback-The-prequel-trilogy-comic-adaptations-19992005‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Clone Wars Adventures’ digests (2004-07)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/9/2/Star-Wars-flashback-Clone-Wars-Adventures-digests-200407
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The Genndy Tartakovsky "Clone Wars" TV microseries (2003-05) delivered bite-size kinetic tales that served as a testing ground for "The Clone Wars" (2008-14). Its comic-book parallel was the <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Clone_Wars_Adventures_(comics)" target="_blank">"Clone Wars Adventures"</a> digests (2004-07), in which artists – most often the Fillbach Brothers – and colorists mimic Tartakovsky's work and the microseries' energy.
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These 10 volumes are unambiguously aimed at kids. Each features three or four brisk fables or commentaries, or sometimes just an action sequence. The major heroes and villains of the Clone Wars take turns in the spotlight. Most of these yarns are pointless, many are pleasurable to look at due to the vibrant colors, some are worth a smirk or a smile, and all are forgettable.
Still, I powered through them in a few sittings and picked out the 10 best stories (or at least those with the most talking points):
1. "Old Scores" (Volume 8, written by Chris Avellone) – In the most important piece of EU continuity in "Adventures," we learn that Aurra Sing received her bounty-hunter training from a Hutt on Nar Shaddaa. But she didn't pay her tuition bill, because the Hutt is out to kill her.
2. "Bailed Out" (5, Justin Lambros) – The dark comedy clicks as Wat Tambor gives Bail Organa a tour of a Separatist industrial site, under the impression that Bail is interested in selling mining rights on Alderaan. But Bail actually aims to rescue Shaak Ti from the prison.
3. "Salvaged" (9, The Fillbach Brothers) – A clone trooper is unconscious during Order 66, and when he wakes up he saves a cargo-hold full of young Jedi-in-hiding from his fellow clones. It shows us that if not for their programming (as per the TV series) or indoctrination (as per the "Republic Commando" books), clones can determine the right thing to do.
4. "Rogue's Gallery" (3, Haden Blackman) – Along with "Old Scores," this is "Adventures' " other notable continuity tale, as Dooku's old guard – Asajj Ventress and Durge – clash with the new guard – General Grievous.
5. "It Takes a Thief" (6, The Fillbach Brothers") – Saesee Tiin calmly works his way through Separatist entanglements on an evocatively snowy planet while a local petty thief marvels at the Jedi.
6. "Chain of Command" (10, Jason Hall) – Ki-Adi Mundi orders a newly minted Jedi Knight on a delivery mission without telling her the details. When she learns she was a decoy, Ki stresses the importance of following orders, even if you don't have the full picture. In a final panel, we learn that Dooku didn't know why he was on the assignment either, and Sidious reminds him of the importance of following orders. It works as a sly microcosm of the war's shaky moral footing on both sides.
7. "Orders" (4, Ryan Kaufman) – In the grimmest "Adventures" story, a clone regimen rescues an orphan from a war-torn region, similar to the Numa arc from the Ryloth episodes in "The Clone Wars" Season 1. A clone tells the lad about the importance of following orders, and when Order 66 comes down, the clones slaughter their Jedi leaders, leaving the kid utterly traumatized.
8. "A Stranger in Town" (3, The Fillbach Brothers) – Yoda is in fine form as he hauls a mysterious giant box into town, baffling the residents. It turns out to be a massive blaster cannon that he uses to mow down Separatist invaders. It's a wry commentary on the irony of how "Star Wars" features mysticism and wisdom in the midst of insane volleys of violence.
9. "Spy Girls" (7, Kaufman) – Padme and a handmaiden pull off a successful mission largely because their targets think they are mere diplomats. Similar to the Leia-centered "Lucky Stars" from "Star Wars Tales," it's a fun premise that should've been exploited more in the wider saga.
10. "What Goes Up ..." (5, The Fillbach Brothers) – This Aayla Secura tale is on the list simply because her mission takes her to an Ewok village, something that challenges the notion that Endor is unknown to the wider galaxy until the construction of Death Star II. The continuity is plausible, since the war moves away from the moon by story's end.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSat, 02 Sep 2017 00:17:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/9/2/Star-Wars-flashback-Clone-Wars-Adventures-digests-200407‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Agent of the Empire’ (2011-13)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/9/1/Star-Wars-flashback-Agent-of-the-Empire-201113
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One of the most all-around beautiful pieces of "Star Wars" comic storytelling came toward the end of the Dark Horse run: <a href="http://showcase.starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Agent_of_the_Empire" target="_blank">"Agent of the Empire,"</a> which includes the five-issue arcs "Iron Eclipse" (2011-12) and "Hard Targets" (2012-13). The series is written by elite scribe John Ostrander with gorgeous art by Stephane Roux and Stephane Crety ("Iron Eclipse") and Davide Fabbri and Christian Dalla Vecchia ("Hard Targets"). The latter duo delivered crisp and colorful art on "Republic" and "Empire," but colorist Wes Dzioba smartly selects darker hues here to fit the mood.
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Main character Jahan Cross is purposefully carved from the James Bond mold – complete with designers of cutting-edge weapons, gadgets and vehicles whom he leans on -- and he translates well to the era when the Empire is at its height, a few years before "A New Hope." Although he has Bond-like coolness, charisma and a way with the ladies, Cross feels like a genuine "Star Wars" character for a couple reasons.
One, it makes sense that the Imperial bureaucracy would employ someone like him, who does off-the-books missions, reporting to head of Intelligence Armand Isard (introduced in the "X-wing" novels). Aside from being much further removed from the Emperor (who possibly doesn't know he exists), Cross is like Mara Jade in her Emperor's Hand days. Even though they are Imperials, we root for them when they take down corrupt Imperial officers, as Cross does in the opening panels.
Two, Cross interacts naturally with familiar characters and locales. In addition to Isard, there's also Han and Chewbacca, who play a bigger-than-a-cameo role in "Iron Eclipse," which is set in the Corporate Sector. (This leads me to fondly remember Brian Daley's novels and wish the spirt of those yarns was captured in more stories.) I like how Han tells a companion that jumping out of gravity well would tear the Falcon apart – rules that don't apply in the Disney universe (as "The Force Awakens" shows), just one example of why the EU feels more grounded and real.
In "Hard Targets," the Alderaanian Cross naturally crosses paths with Bail Organa and Princess Leia. It would've been interesting to see Cross's reaction to the Empire's destruction of Alderaan, but of course "Agent of the Empire" ends short of that point. Boba Fett plays into the second arc, too, and he casually references a previous showdown with Cross on The Wheel (a location from the Marvel comics, although that particular meeting is never chronicled).
I like how we see a helmet-less Boba Fett here, with Fabbri and Dalla Vecchia giving him a very human grizzled look that belies his professionalism. We also catch up with the royal Dooku line of Serenno, and the art team repurposes the wonderful production design of "The Phantom Menace" for a more energetic underwater chase.
A kinetic-yet-graspable series, "Agent of the Empire" smoothly fits into "Star Wars" lore for all of the above reasons, yet Ostrander never seems to be showing off his knowledge of the wider continuity.
As distant as he may be, and as much as he might be an agent of the plot, Cross gradually builds into a character over the course of these 10 issues. The impression (which may or may not be fair) I get from James Bond stories is that the action comes before characterization. Those movies are a bunch of entertaining moments that don't add up to a satisfying package, because the plots are often convoluted and because Bond's relationships and loyalties are so fleeting.
That carries over to "Agent of the Empire" – at first blush. Cross is not precisely a womanizer, but when a sexy Nautolan companion is killed amid his mission (and as part of a scheme to take down our protagonist), Cross is not thrown off his game. When he bonds with human femme fatale Elli Stark at the end of "Iron Eclipse," he notes that she'd be great marriage material for someone. "But you're not interested," she says. "Well, I didn't say that," he quips. They kiss, the story ends, and of course she's not mentioned in "Hard Targets," by which time I – like Cross – had forgotten her name.
In flashbacks, Ostrander shows us why Cross becomes an Imperial agent: He believes the official history that the Jedi took down the Republic, and he thinks emphasizing "order" is the best response. Or at least he tells himself that. Really, he becomes cold to the galaxy after his family is killed in the chaos following the crash of the Invisible Hand on Coruscant at the start of "Revenge of the Sith."
Like a better take on the "New Rebellion" plot, the superweapon of "Iron Eclipse" is a computer virus that can control all droids. He allows his virus-corrupted human-replica droid IN-GA to perish, even though she's the closest thing he has too a friend (and perhaps he leaves her synth-flesh off so as not to grow too close). His reasoning: "No one should have that (weapon). Not even the Empire. It would be chaos." So while I disagree with his politics, there's evidence that Cross is not all in with his employers, and had the series gone further, I think he might've gone firmly rogue.
We'll never know, but EU fans should treasure "Agent of the Empire" as a brilliant example of Ostrander tying together various elements of the saga into a slick story that also fleshes out the pre-Rebellion era.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksFri, 01 Sep 2017 00:15:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/9/1/Star-Wars-flashback-Agent-of-the-Empire-201113‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Lost Tribe of the Sith: Spiral’ (2012)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/8/31/Star-Wars-flashback-Lost-Tribe-of-the-Sith-Spiral-2012
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During the Expanded Universe era, the Bantam/Del Rey books and Dark Horse comics didn't collaborate too often, but when they did, it was often a treat. A prime example is John Jackson Miller's <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Lost_Tribe_of_the_Sith:_Spiral" target="_blank">"Lost Tribe of the Sith: Spiral"</a> (2012). It spins off from "Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories," nine novellas that give us the multi-millennial backstory of the sheltered Sith culture that finally springs itself on the galaxy in "Fate of the Jedi."
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Miller's storytelling (as we already knew from "Knights of the Old Republic" and "Knight Errant") works just as well in comics as in prose, but as a bonus, we also see the planet Kesh and its denizens – blue-skinned Keshiri, plus humans, plus a multi-species group called The Doomed – brought to life. The Japanese-influenced architectural designs fit with what I imagined from the novellas.
Jackson is a master at making grand civilizations spring to life, while also keeping things personal, and "Spiral" is a prime example. The five-issue series – ideally read in one or two sittings -- does ask a reader to pay close attention, because in order to make a planet's history vibrant, Miller makes it complex. Some of the Keshiri serve in the lord's court, and some of the humans are slaves, as the illustrations help us understand. He also answers some lingering questions from "The Collected Stories," which is ideally read before "Spiral." Here, we learn why the Keshiri weren't surprised by the arrival of the Lost Tribe of the Sith: Millennia before the Lost Tribe came, a war between dark and light Jedi spilled onto the planet, thus leading to the natives' lore about how their overlords would return.
The Lost Tribe's exploration of Kesh parallels Europeans' exploration of the Earth. In "Pandemonium," the last entry in "The Collected Stories," we journey from the "home continent" of Keshtah to the continent Alanciar, a parallel to the New World. "Spiral's" protagonists – the lord's daughter Takara Hilts and the slave Parlan Spinner – are supposedly headed to Alanciar as exiles, trading barbs all the way. Takara has access to power but doesn't crave it; Spinner craves power but doesn't have access to it. (Although both are dark-side users, everyone on this planet is, so the duo still works as protagonists worth rooting for, if not precisely "heroes.")
However, Miller throws a curveball: The ship is actually headed to Eshkrene, a heretofore unknown continent akin to Antarctica, where Takara and Spinner meet yet another isolated group. The Doomed took it upon themselves to make sure forces from that ancient Force war would never rise again, by guarding a dark-side weapon that was left behind.
In a nice call-back to Marvel's Annual No. 1 ("The Long Hunt"), The Doomed's leader is Kaliska, a member of the S'kytri species. A well-designed humanoid species, with wings that allow for flying, they should've appeared in more Legends stories. It's amusing to see Kaliska carry Takara around like the flying X-Men transport their non-flying brethren.
Although it's a nice tie-in that the mysterious weapon – a hibernating Sith Lord named Dreypa – comes from the era of "Knights of the Old Republic," I have to admit that Dreypa himself is a bit of a clichéd powermonger. It's hard not to see him as somewhat of a parody, especially since I often detect a smirk behind Miller's words. (For example, in "Spiral's" introduction from a Keshiri perspective, he writes: "... they are the Lost Tribe of the Sith, and they are all that is great in the universe! We know, because they told us so!") I somewhat forgive the cliché because Dreypa's power-grab serves a backdrop for the interplay between Spinner and Takara, which is at the heart of "Spiral."
Although a lot of Dark Horse titles from the early 2010s were cut short by the Disney purchase (including Miller's "Knight Errant"), it seems like "Spiral" was intended to be the author's last word in his "Lost Tribe" saga. The final panel suggests that Spinner and Takara – now both serving the tribal lord -- are hitting it off, with captions noting that "hands come in twos," and "the Sith await their revenge ..."
This might be a veiled reference to the Rule of Two, which developed much later in the "Darth Bane" books -- off the planet Kesh, of course, although perhaps the Lost Tribe came up with the same ideal on their own. The Lost Tribe's desire for revenge on the galaxy would then be picked up in "Fate of the Jedi" through characters such as Vestara Khai, who becomes Ben Skywalker's girlfriend. The arc of that relationship, unfortunately, gets cut short, but at least Miller completed his Lost Tribe backstory before the dark times arrived.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksThu, 31 Aug 2017 00:13:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/8/31/Star-Wars-flashback-Lost-Tribe-of-the-Sith-Spiral-2012‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Clone Wars’ (digests) Nos. 10-11 (2013)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/8/30/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-digests-Nos-1011-2013
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<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Clone_Wars_(graphic_novellas)" target="_blank">"The Clone Wars" digests,</a> like their parent show, came to a premature conclusion in 2013 with Disney's purchase and rebooting of the franchise. As with the TV show, the digests were starting to be more consistently good when they ended. No. 9, "The Sith Hunters," which I reviewed in a <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/13/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-The-Sith-Hunters-and-Darth-Maul-Death-Sentence-2012" target="_blank">previous post,</a> is the best and most essential issue, as it fills in Darth Maul's story between "The Phantom Menace" and "The Clone Wars."
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The series then concludes with writer Justin Aclin's only two "Star Wars" efforts. "Defenders of the Lost Temple" (March 2013) – set between Seasons 4 and 5 – feels very much like a TV episode. The idea of Jedi and clones searching an abandoned temple for a Sith artifact is standard stuff, but extra intensity comes from Pre Viszla and Death Watch entering the fray. I also like that this is not a top-level Republic group, which makes sense, as the elite men and women are on more crucial missions.
Rennax, a Jedi Padawan who doesn't want to fight, and Glitch, a clone trooper who wants to tap into the Force more than he wants to fight, are not wholly original characters. But I love the happy endings Aclin provides for them: With her master's and the Order's blessing, Rennax leaves the Jedi to reunite with her family and start a life outside of warfare. And Glitch – thought to be dead, and therefore left behind – can start a life on Draay 2, where the temple is located. (It's unclear if there is any civilization on the moon, but there is abundant flora and fauna, so we at least know Glitch can live off the land.)
The series finale, "The Smuggler's Code" (June 2013) – set during Season 4 -- reminds me of "Underworld: The Yavin Vassilika" thanks to the pencils and inks of Eduardo Ferrara. This is the kind of crazy-but-fun art that I wouldn't want to see in every "Star Wars" comic, but I like it now and then. It pairs nicely with Aclin's story about a single-minded Obi-Wan wanting to bring the Shistavanen criminal T'Mott Zoat to justice because 20 years ago, he killed someone who was under Obi-Wan's protection.
I thought for sure this was a reference to the "Jedi Apprentice" young-adult books, but Wookieepedia tells me it is not; Zoat only appears in this novella, as does the smuggler Rook Pryce, with whom Obi-Wan begrudgingly teams up on the colorful beach-resort planet Wielu. Pryce – who always takes the best deal, even if it means breaking a contract (that's his version of the titular code) – is somewhat in the vein of Hondo Ohnaka, and he would've been worth exploring further.
Thematically, this issue falls into the "Obi-Wan realizes he needs Anakin's and Ahsoka's help" subgenre. There are also several stories where Anakin realizes he needs Obi-Wan's and Ahsoka's help, but interestingly, not as many where Ahsoka is determined to go solo (at least not until she gives up on the Jedi Order at the end of Season 5, with very good reason). So a strong case could be made that Ahsoka is the most mature Jedi out of the trio.
Largely an experimental "throw it at the wall and see what sticks" series, "The Clone Wars" digests deliver more good than bad, and like the TV show, they leave a reader wanting more – partly because of all the one-and-done characters (Aclin's entries being prime examples) and partly because the series allows us to spend more time with the heroes and villains of the Clone Wars.
Here are my rankings of the digests:
1. "The Sith Hunters" (9)
2. "Strange Allies" (7)
3. "Deadly Hands of Shon-Ju" (5)
4. "Crash Course" (2)
5. "Defenders of the Lost Temple" (10)
6. "The Smuggler's Code" (11)
7. "Shipyards of Doom" (1)
8. "The Enemy Within" (8)
9. "The Colossus of Destiny" (4)
10. "The Wind Raiders of Taloraan" (3)
11. "The Starcrusher Trap" (6)
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksWed, 30 Aug 2017 00:11:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/8/30/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-digests-Nos-1011-2013‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Clone Wars’ (digests) Nos. 5-8 (2010-12)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/8/29/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-digests-Nos-58-201012
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<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Clone_Wars_(graphic_novellas)" target="_blank">"The Clone Wars" digests</a> continue to deliver a mixed bag of supplementary material to the TV show with Nos. 5-8 (2010-12), featuring good yarns about Aayla Secura and the clones and a strong "Secret Missions" tie-in, but also a shallow Obi-Wan/Anakin/Ahsoka story.
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Aayla Secura was one of the best characters in the "Republic" comics, but arguably her feelings about touching the dark side and losing her memory were underexplored compared to her master, Quinlan Vos, who goes through a similar experience. Jeremy Barlow's "Deadly Hands of Shon-Ju" (December 2010) rectifies this somewhat as Aayla rediscovers her spirit and loyalty to the Jedi Order. It's a bit disappointing that it comes by contrasting herself against another character, Shon-Ju, who makes excellent points about the hypocrisy of the Jedi Order before undermining it with his own faults. Still, he's a good character for the first half of the book, the latest example of a rogue Force-user who starts his own sect outside of the Order. (And similar to how Laranth from "Coruscant Nights" eschews lightsabers for guns, Shon-Ju favors his hands; he's basically a karate master.)
The war profiteer Attuma Duum, who lures the Republic and the Separatists into a minefield largely to enjoy the fireworks, is a good villain, and I enjoy Barlow's promise in the final panels that both Duum and Shon-Ju will re-emerge, and that Dooku might be interested in recruiting the latter. However, neither appears again.
Mike W. Barr's "The Starcrusher Trap" (July 2011) is step down. Raymund Lee's moody coloring of the Fillbach Brothers' art stands out, and the plot about Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and others trying to destroy a Separatist superweapon through infiltration is familiar -- although Obi-Wan's magnetizing of the hull is clever. The page-to-page flow and dialog are predictable, right down to Anakin disobeying orders to save the day. Weirdly, Mace Windu is just along for the ride – someone with Mace's powerful presence shouldn't be in a story unless he has something significant to contribute. And while Barr's original Jedi, Jyl Somtay, develops a bond with Ahsoka and speaks of growing up in the Temple with Anakin, she appears in no other stories with those characters.
Ryder Windham's "Strange Allies" (November 2011) gets the digest series back on track. It ties in to Windham's four-book young-adult "Secret Missions" series that chronicle master-less Padawan Nuru Kungurama, a Chiss, and the mercenary Big Gizz from the "Shadows of the Empire" comic series. It's interesting to see Gizz in his younger days, when he still has a decent heart -- which tends to get broken by females – to go along with his uncouth behavior. The twisty plot eventually finds the duo escorting orphaned kids, and for continuity buffs, it's nice to visit Affa (where C-3PO was allegedly activated, according to Russ Manning's "The Constancia Affair," "Episode I" notwithstanding) and Fondor (from the Goodwin/Williamson strips). Supplemented by crisp art by Ben Dewey, it ends up as the richest "Clone Wars" graphic novella up to this point.
Barlow's "The Enemy Within" (March 2012) is a decent story about the clone Banks (so named for his ability to make bank-shots with blaster bolts) who takes on a turncoat commander and a turncoat clone within his ranks, although the stories about the defectors are not particularly deep. (A stronger clone defector yarn is Season 2's "The Deserter," and Karen Traviss' "Republic Commando" novels dealt in-depth with the complex desertion plans of Skirata's clones.) "The Enemy Within" is the latest example of time being spent to create an interesting character, only for that character to never be seen again.
Through eight of the 11 entries, the "Clone Wars" digests seem to be a catch-all title for authors to tell whatever stories they want – about main characters or side characters, aimed at kids or aimed at wide audiences. We don't know what we're gonna get until we open each book.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 29 Aug 2017 00:44:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/8/29/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-digests-Nos-58-201012‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Clone Wars’ (digests) Nos. 1-4 (2008-09)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/8/25/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-digests-Nos-14-200809
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Although "The Clone Wars" did try some adult tie-ins, such as the 12-issue comic series and a few novels, it mostly aimed for younger audiences. This is particularly evidenced by the 11 <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Clone_Wars_(graphic_novellas)" target="_blank">"Clone Wars" digests,</a> sometimes called "graphic novellas." However, these digests are not as kid-oriented as the "Clone Wars Adventures" digests from earlier in the decade, and today – given the TV series' premature cancellation – they stand as a way to soak up a bit more "Clone Wars," and from some pretty good writers, to boot.
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Granted, they do tend toward the standard plot of the Republic and Separatists clashing over a valuable resource on a random planet, with the unfortunate inhabitants caught in the middle. There's often a line or two from a Jedi about how war is terrible, but they must endure, or from a clone about how war is the only thing they know, so they aim to be good at it. Still, there's something comforting about the ole Obi-Wan/Anakin/Ahsoka banter, and sometimes there's a bit more depth to be gleaned.
Here's a closer look at the first four entries:
First up is Henry Gilroy's "Shipyards of Doom" (September 2008), an early example of George Lucas' and Dave Filoni's treatment of the EU as concept materials to be mined (something that unfortunately is now S.O.P. with Disney in its creation of "new" stories, which is why – for old-school fans -- there's little sense of surprise or delight in their "Star Wars" work). The Jedi and clones carbon-freeze themselves in order to get past life-form scanners to a Sep factory on Gwori. This exact same plot point was used in Season 3's "The Citadel" in 2011, and with Ahsoka sneaking onto that mission too, there can be no doubt it was lifted wholesale from "Shipyards of Doom."
The digests' writers saw their work as part of the grand saga, though, as witnessed by Gilroy's reference to Saesee Tiin's precise hyperspace jump in the "Republic" comics where he gets between a blockade and the target planet. Electroshock racks call to mind Lucas' early "A New Hope" draft (adapted to comics as "The Star Wars") where the Imperials torture suspected rebels out in the open, and we see a Republic bomber that's part of a line that will eventually become Y-wings.
"Crash Course" (December 2008), written by Gilroy and Gary Scheppke, is the best of this batch. It uses the "important data file" maguffin, which of course goes back to "A New Hope," but tacks on lots of fun and humor as Anakin volunteers Ahsoka for a podrace on Mon Gazza. The miffed Padawan refers to Anakin as her "oil boy" (sorry, I couldn't help but think of "Dumb & Dumber"), and they clash over whether a Twi'lek racer – whom Ahsoka is investigating perhaps too intimately (making this her only romance yarn outside of Lux from the TV series) – is the Separatist agent. Mon Gazza's podrace course, including tubes that may or may not have an exit, is a great parody of the dangerous course in "The Phantom Menace." And in a nice touch, Ben Quadinaros (misspelled "Quadrinaros" here) wins the race!
I had high hopes for "The Wind Raiders of Taloraan" (May 2009) because it's written by John Ostrander, one of the elite "Star Wars" comic writers. Taloraan is so similar to Bespin – including its tibanna gas mines and the titular flying creatures and mounts that smack of other EU works about the planet -- that one wonders why the story doesn't simply use Bespin. But Ahsoka has her moments, standing up to a Wind Raider who claims he owns her, and Ostrander includes the occasional darker element, such as a corrupt official committing suicide by walking off the edge of the floating city.
Jeremy Barlow's "The Colossus of Destiny" (December 2009) has its value as a Mace Windu yarn. We see in sketchy flashbacks that Mace had helped Simocadia fight off invaders in the past, so he takes it upon himself to be a one-man wrecking crew to save the planet from the Separatists. Barlow illustrates how Windu's calm demeanor in the Jedi Council chambers belies an inner rage, which – as readers of the novel "Shatterpoint" know -- is attributable to the fact that he's from Haruun Kal, and like all natives of that planet has a bit of the dark side in him. The events of "Colossus" leave him as hollow and bitter as ever, making this a worthy entry for fans who want to gather up materials about this too-enigmatic character.
Art for each of these four books is by the workmanlike Fillbach Brothers, mainstays on "Clone Wars Adventures." It gets the job done – and Ronda Pattison's color palette effectively mimics the TV show -- but it works better on romps such as "Crash Course" more so than would-be grimmer stuff like "Colossus."
"Republic" – or even "The Clone Wars" comic series -- this ain't, but these digests (some of which I am reading for the first time) aren't as shallow as I feared. But I hope they'll branch into a wider variety of tales as the series moves forward.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksFri, 25 Aug 2017 00:10:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/8/25/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-digests-Nos-14-200809‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Clone Wars’ Issues 7-12 (2009-10) and ‘The Gauntlet of Death’ (2009)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/8/22/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-Issues-712-200910-and-The-Gauntlet-of-Death-2009
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<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Clone_Wars_(comics)" target="_blank">"The Clone Wars"</a> numbered comics series had a surprisingly short run of only 12 issues, but it was a good one, with TV show writers Henry Gilroy and Stephen Melching penning three arcs that could've been TV episodes. Indeed, <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/12/26/What-story-would-you-like-to-see-adapted-to-The-Clone-Wars-next" target="_blank">"Slaves of the Republic"</a> (Issues 1-6) was adapted into a Season 4 arc. (Because of tweaks such as Ventress being dropped from the story, as Dooku had dismissed her by Season 4, that arc is a rare example of a Legends story that was rendered non-canon within Legends – ironically because it was repurposed.)
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The two three-issue yarns that follow are comfortably familiar tales where the Jedi go on a mission to a planet that is freshly caught in the Republic-Separatist war due to a natural resource or specialized industry, and both feature key continuity points for the wider saga. "In Service of the Republic" (Issues 7-9, 2009) is notable for telling the earliest-on-the-timeline story of Ozzel, later known as the Imperial admiral who is "as clumsy as he is stupid" in "The Empire Strikes Back." Palpatine – through indifference or racism or both – praises Ozzel at story's end for the successful mission on Khorm – although it's actually popular clone character Wolffe (who loses his eye in this story) and Jedis Kit Fisto and Plo Koon who get the job done in spite of Ozzel.
While there's never much doubt of where the story's going, Gilroy and Melching pepper in some nice homages like a weather-control station reminiscent of the Tagge Corporation machine that created a path through Yavin's atmosphere in the Marvel comics, and the snow-worms from the Pizzazz magazine comics. Depth comes from the Jedi teaching the clones the value of respecting their dead (something that sets them apart from the Seps), and humor comes from Kit and a clone constantly wondering what Plo Koon's age is, as the old Master deftly dodges the questioning.
The "In Service of the Republic" trade paperback includes Gilroy's 2009 Free Comic Book Day story <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Clone_Wars:_The_Gauntlet_of_Death" target="_blank">"The Gauntlet of Death,"</a> which is inconsequential but includes a couple interesting elements. It shows Geonosians fighting for the Separatists off their own planet; Geonosians rarely leave their home, although it's not unheard of in Legends. (In Disney's "Rebels," I believe the species is wiped out by the Empire.) And we learn that their weapons' beams can't be deflected by lightsabers, which leads to Kit's conundrum as he attempts to run their gauntlet. This might've been worth exploring in a bigger story. Additionally, Cooker is known as one of the elite clone snipers, but he only appears in this tale.
Gilroy and Melching step up their game in "Hero of the Confederacy" (Issues 10-12, 2009-10), which – as the title suggests – shows the perspective of a decent-hearted, freedom-fighting Separatist several months before the TV show did the same with "Heroes on Both Sides." While the latter is a better story thanks to the Ahsoka-Lux near-romance, this one is strong, too, as Anakin befriends fellow podracing enthusiast Tofen Vane on the planet Valahari. (Recalling a cliché from the Marvel comics, Tofen is the son in the planet's ruling family.)
The planet comes to the Republic's attention for its production of vulture droid fighters, which feature in the opening battle of "Revenge of the Sith." Also calling to mind that sequence: Tofen's starfighter's equivalent to an Artoo unit is a sympathetic buzz-droid, and Anakin's yellow-and-blue starfighter is introduced here after he crashes his previous one.
Tofen and his Raiders are manipulated into serving the Separatists by Dooku, naturally. While we can again see where the story is going, "Hero of the Confederacy" is an airtight example of how someone can be drawn into one side of a war based on anger, shoddy information and willing blindness to the other side's case. Anakin's sadness over Tofen's demise at the end seems more legitimate than other stories with one-and-done acquaintances.
While the art on "The Clone Wars" is consistently inferior to "Republic's," colorist Michael E. Wiggam does vibrant work here when the fight moves to a nebula where Tofen's Raiders do battle with Anakin and his squadron.
These comics were full-size but collected into trade paperbacks that are digest-sized. I didn't care for the small font size in the digests. If memory serves, that is rectified in the 11 "The Clone Wars" digests that follow, which were specifically designed for the format. But I also remember those digests having simpler storytelling.
As for the 12 proper issues of "The Clone Wars," fans of the TV series will want to pick them up and – in the case of Issues 7-12 -- imagine they are watching TV episodes that never came to be.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 22 Aug 2017 16:06:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/8/22/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-Issues-712-200910-and-The-Gauntlet-of-Death-2009'Terminator' flashback: 'Terminator Salvation' movie, novelization and comic book (2009)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/6/4/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Salvation-movie-novelization-and-comic-book-2009
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The very first "Terminator" spinoff materials – the Now comics – explored the Future War, but aside from flashbacks/flash-forwards, it took another two decades for the Future War to be explored on screen. This makes <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0438488/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
" target="_blank">"Terminator Salvation"</a> (2009) stand out among the saga's screen incarnations, even though the plot points and themes will be familiar to readers of the spinoff materials, particularly Dark Horse Comics' early 1990s work.
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"Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris reprise their roles, but "Salvation" comes off as a quite different film since it's directed by McG. In and of themselves, the ultra-kinetic action sequences leave little to complain about, although the giant Harvester – which picks up humans for transport to Skynet's labs – smacks a bit too much of the "Transformers" franchise, which was huge at the time. And the special effects are great, notably in a scene where we see Marcus' face with machine parts exposed; the saga has come a long way since Arnold's self-repair scene in "T1."
"Salvation" has a stark tan- and rust-colored beauty that serves to set off this 2018 future from the 2029 future of James Cameron's films that was defined by Hunter-Killers prowling a dark-blue landscape. I also like the look of Skynet Central's exterior, which resembles a "Blade Runner" cityscape. And the interior recalls a sterile sci-fi film, like "2001" or "The Andromeda Strain." All told, it's a nice film to look at.
As established in "T3" and the two "T4" prequel stories ("From the Ashes" and "Sand in the Gears"), the Brancato/Ferris future differs from Cameron's in that it's not so much man vs. machine as it is man-and-their-machines vs. Skynet's machines. The Resistance is on close-to-even footing with Skynet, so this plays more like a war movie than a story of desperate survivors – in that regard, it's a less grim film to watch than one might assume.
The film's biggest problem is Conrad Buff's editing, which is rapid-fire, presumably to accentuate the action. This makes the plot hard to follow. For example, John knows Skynet Central has human captives before Marcus tells him Kyle Reese is among those captives. Presumably, pilot Blair Williams told John, but if there ever was such a scene, it was cut.
Additionally, General Ashdown of Resistance Command insists on a coordinated attack on Skynet before John has a chance to rescue Kyle, but it's unclear why he is in a rush.
The excellent novelization by Alan Dean Foster – in his first "Terminator" jaunt after stints in the "Star Wars" and "Alien" franchises – smooths this out somewhat, but in the film, it's a mess. It's not even clear if the Resistance aims to attack many Skynet bases worldwide, or if several regional Resistance cells are supposed to converge on Skynet Central, in San Francisco. (The former is the case, Foster tells us, but you'd hardly know it from the film.)
It's also unclear how Skynet's embedded signal leads Skynet to the Command submarine. And the functionality of the Skynet signal-jammer is unclear: John and his team successfully test it, but they don't use it later at Skynet Central, when it could come in handy. In short, "Salvation" has complex plot points, but it's presented as a straightforward actioner, as if the writers, director and editor weren't on the same page.
Aside from making the plot hard to follow, the quick cuts and fast pace make "Salvation" feel insubstantial. For example, John jumps from a helicopter into stormy seas, and then we immediately see him in the submarine's war room. The logistics of the sub plucking a man out of the ocean must've been daunting; however, we don't see it. As the film moves forward, a viewer feels like even the riskiest move is unlikely to have consequences for our heroes – and not just the nearly invulnerable Marcus. (This, of course, is an issue with most action films of the early 21st century, but one would hope the "Terminator" franchise might be a cut above.)
For the second-straight film, the franchise makes the odd decision to recast roles. IMDB says Nick Stahl wasn't considered for a return to the John Connor role and Claire Danes wasn't interested in playing Kate again. "Salvation" takes place 14 years after "T3," but was filmed only six years later, so one might assume they needed older actors. Christian Bale is five years older than Stahl, so that might explain that (although more likely, they wanted a bigger name).
But the switch to Bryce Dallas Howard makes no sense, as she's two years YOUNGER than Claire Danes. At any rate, Kate does nothing in "Salvation" beyond standing next to John, looking pretty and reminding us that he has a pregnant wife.
On the plus side, Marcus (Sam Worthington), the human/Terminator hybrid, is an intriguing addition to the series, and he has good chemistry with Resistance pilot Blair (Moon Bloodgood), although – as with all character stuff in this movie -- it's not fully exploited.
The ending of "Salvation" is arguably a misfire. On my theatrical viewing, I thought John received Marcus' mechanical heart. In retrospect, that makes no sense, as the Resistance has no ability to replicate Skynet's procedure. On this viewing, it's clear that John receives Marcus' human heart (previously, John notes that Marcus' heart is still human, and therefore a vulnerable spot).
It's similarly unlikely that the Resistance's surgeons could perform a heart transplant – but obviously, we must accept that they can. Questions about whether John's body would accept Marcus' Skynet-enhanced heart are also raised. And the outdoor surgical theater is strange and potentially not sterile.
Blair's lack of argument over Marcus' sacrifice also suggests this ending was a last-minute rewrite. In Foster's book, John is not gutted in the final battle, and he and Marcus both survive the story intact. It's a less dramatic ending, but a more logical one, and it would allow for Marcus to be used in future stories.
Initial plans for "Salvation" to launch a trilogy were quickly scrapped (perhaps this is why Marcus is killed off), but there would be several follow-up novels and comics.
Perhaps because of its action chops and production design, "Salvation" ranks the highest among the non-Cameron films on IMDB, with a 6.6, compared to 6.5 for "Genisys" and 6.3 for "T3." On the other hand, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic calculate that it got worse reviews than "T3" but better reviews than "Genisys" – and I likewise would rank it between those two films in quality.
(IDW released a comic book issue dubbed a "Movie Preview." It adapts roughly the first quarter of the film, up to the point where Marcus meets Kyle and Star. The rest wasn't adapted, perhaps because of lukewarm reception to the film. As such, "T2" is the only movie to receive a full comic adaptation.)
CHARACTERS AND ACTORS
Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton): Sarah is not in the film, having died in 1997 of cancer, but Hamilton does reprise her role vocally, recording the tapes John listens to. Her voice sounds older than it should, but I suppose she was still the best actress for the job.
John Connor (Christian Bale): John, 38 (remember, he was born in 1980 on this timeline), is not the high man on the totem pole among Resistance Command; he merely leads one outpost. It's presumably somewhere in California -- although not in Los Angeles, which they flee in "From the Ashes," or San Francisco, which is home to Skynet Central. However, he has the ear of all the little guys in the Resistance thanks to his regular broadcasts and his prophetic status (which he himself must have spread, although that notion is downplayed). Bale – the fourth actor to play John in a lead role -- is sufficiently gruff and heroic as a man who leads from the front, and he looks somewhat like "T3's" Nick Stahl, although for the sake of continuity, I'd have preferred to see Stahl in the role.
Kate Connor (Bryce Dallas Howard): Kate, presumably also 38, is a Resistance doctor, but she doesn't get much screen time, other than to remind us that she's still around and she's pregnant (as revealed in "From the Ashes"). Howard is the second actress to play Kate, taking over for Claire Danes, who wasn't interested in reprising her "T3" role.
Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin): About 16 years old by John's estimate (chapter 11 of the novelization), Kyle – along with Star – somewhat jokingly calls himself the L.A. branch of the Resistance. He does not know John is his son, and John does not tell him after they meet in this movie. (And, indeed, John never does tell him before sending him back through the time bubble in 2029, as we see in "Genisys.") This fits with "T1," where Kyle does not know he's John's father (although since "T3"/"T4"/"T5" are on a different timeline from Cameron's films, it wouldn't necessarily have to fit). Command knows Kyle is at the top of Skynet's kill list, but they think that's a sign that Skynet is glitchy, not that it's important that Kyle survives. Kyle's dad had been around post-Judgment Day – Kyle notes that his dad tried to fix a radio at their hideout (5) – but presumably Kyle is the last survivor of his family. Following Michael Biehn, Yelchin is the second actor to play Kyle in a significant role; third if you count Jonathan Jackson's turn in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
Star (Jadagrace): Kyle's mute companion, she's about 9 or 10 years old by Marcus' estimation (4). She's good at sensing trouble. Kyle gave her the name "Star" because he found her at the ruins of an L.A. observatory, looking skyward (7). The final page of Foster's novelization vaguely hints that she might be a robot, as Marcus notices a red glint in her eye just for a moment, which is probably a trick of the moonlight.
Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood): This Resistance fighter jock is initially the only one in John's Resistance cell who believes Marcus is more man than machine.
Barnes (Common): John's second in command.
General Ashdown (Michael Ironside): The top man in the Resistance, he (for some reason) orders the cells to attack various Skynet bases before John has a chance to rescue the human prisoners from Skynet Central. Ashdown is killed when Skynet blows up the Command submarine.
General Losenko (Ivan G'Vera): Ashdown's second in command and a top man from the Russian military. He's also killed when Skynet blows up the sub, but we'll learn his backstory in the novel "Cold War."
TERMINATORS
Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington): Born in 1975 – in Abilene, Texas, according to the novelization (10), although Wright's Australian accent puts a lie to that in the film -- he's executed by the state of California in 2003 for, by his own admission, killing someone who didn't deserve it. As he had given his body to Advanced Cyberdyne (15), Marcus re-emerges from a Skynet R&D lab in 2018 as a (very successful) prototype human-machine hybrid. He believes he's human, but he has buried programming that Skynet exploits. His arc is very similar to that of Dudley from "Secondary Objectives," "The Enemy Within" and "End Game" in Dark Horse's "T1" timeline; it's likely that Brancato and Ferris read those comics.
T-800, model 101: Fresh off the assembly line, this classic model (which looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger) attacks John in Skynet Central. This marks the first time the Arnold model is "evil" since "T1." As would be done later in "Genisys," digital effects are used to make the model look like a young Arnold. On the James Cameron timeline, T-800s appeared about a decade later, as they were considered to be new in 2029. When John sees human prisoners, he worries that they are part of the research and development for T-800s (3).
T-600s: The classic endoskeletons are the main bipedal ground models. Some have rubbery faux-human skin that is easily obliterated (4). The film is set just before advanced prototypes such as Marcus Wright and the T-800 are ready. T-600s have one vulnerable spot on the back of their neck (17).
Hydrobots: Water-based Terminators shaped like large eels with claws for a mouth (3).
Harvesters: Giant Transformer-like Terminators that gather up human captives and place them in aerial Transporters (7).
Moto-Terminators: Riderless motorcycles that spring from Harvesters' legs (7).
CONTINUITY AND CONTRADICTIONS
"Salvation" picks up in 2018 during the Future War, in continuity with "T3: Rise of the Machines," the comic series "Sand in the Gears" and the novel "From the Ashes" (but not the "T3" spinoff novels). This continuity will then continue into the further "Salvation" spinoff materials.
Although this is the first screen incarnation (other than flashbacks/flash-forwards) set in the Future War, numerous comics and novels have explored this time (on other timelines), including the Now Comics, Stirling's "Future War" and Blackford's trilogy.
Skynet's technology is progressing faster in this timeline than John expects from what he's been told by Sarah (via Kyle). Notably, T-800 Infiltrators hit the streets in 2018 rather than 2029. However, this time the Resistance is much better armed than on the timeline John heard about, functioning more like a strong (albeit not totally unified) military and less like a bunch of ragtag bands.
Primarily through the appearance of the Russian General Losenko among Command, "Salvation" makes it clear that the Resistance is a unified worldwide military. This seemingly contrasts with "T3," when John waves an American flag in victory. However, it's possible that while the Resistance is international, specific cells still display nationalism. Also, this is a different timeline from the future shown in "T3."
Similarly, we saw cooperation between different nations' Resistance groups in the comic "Hunters and Killers," back on Dark Horse's "T1" timeline. And the idea of Resistance Command being located on a submarine may have come from that comic, which is largely set on a Russian sub.
Kyle's lines to Marcus mirror his lines to Sarah in "T1": "Come with me if you want to live" and his warning that a Terminator "does not stop until you're dead" (4). Later, John tells Kate "I'll be back," a wink-at-the-audience scene-closer.
The survivalists at the mini-mart are like similar groups in "From the Ashes" and "Sand in the Gears": They foolishly believe Skynet will leave them alone if they lay low (7).
Blair and Marcus are attacked by a trio of rogue humans. Previous examples of humans who do not side with the Resistance were found in the Now comics, Stirling's trilogy and the novel "From the Ashes."
Skynet Central is in San Francisco. The city by the bay was also the setting of "One Shot," back on Dark Horse's "T1" timeline, but this is the first time it is significant in the Future War. San Fran will also be the primary setting of "Terminator Genisys."
On this timeline, John gets his famous facial scars – first seen in the Future War scene in "T2" -- when he is scratched by a T-800 that is freezing up after being buried in molten metal and liquid hydrogen.
The idea that humans and machines will converge into one inseparable species is known as the "singularity" theory. It has always been an undercurrent of the "Terminator" saga, but it's particularly overt in "Salvation." It is personified by Marcus, who starts life as a human but is granted a second chance as a machine. John, who sometimes acts "like I'm some kind of machine myself" (11), believes the rescue of the captive humans is important because humans are different from machines; if they behave identically, then the war has no point.
Ultimately, John's life is saved when he receives Marcus' heart via a transplant, but the metaphor is muddy, because this is Marcus' human heart. "Genisys" makes a stronger statement on this issue when John is revealed to be made up of nanobots.
And the end of Foster's novelization flirts with the idea – just for fun, I think – that Star is a machine: Marcus (who survives in the book) looks on as the moonlight is "glinting redly off one of Star's eyes. ... Nothing more than a second of reflection, a singular twinkle. Or a singularity" (17).
TIMELINES AND TIME TRAVEL
As "Salvation" takes place almost entirely in 2018 and chronicles one battle in the Future War, this is the only "Terminator" movie where we get a reprieve from worrying about conundrums of timelines or time travel.
I suppose it is worth noting that John strongly believes they will all die if Kyle dies, which shows his belief in a closed-loop timeline rather than branching timelines. It could also be that 1) he just doesn't want to risk being wrong, and 2) he loves his dad and doesn't want him to die.
MoviesBooksTerminatorComic booksSun, 04 Jun 2017 23:17:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/6/4/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Salvation-movie-novelization-and-comic-book-2009‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Terminator Salvation: Sand in the Gears’ (2009)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/5/31/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Salvation-Sand-in-the-Gears-2009
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Around the same time that the novel line provided a "Terminator Salvation" prequel with "From the Ashes," IDW – the seventh (and, as of now, final) comic company to hold a "Terminator" license -- launched its line with a four-issue prequel story called <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator_Salvation:_Sand_in_the_Gears" target="_blank">"Sand in the Gears"</a> (February-April 2009). Unlike the book, it doesn't introduce any film characters, but it works as a stage-setter.
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The main purpose of the four-issue story by Dara Naraghi is to show that the Resistance's fight against Skynet is worldwide. On Operation Sand in the Gears, the Detroit group aims to wipe out a Skynet Terminator factory (formerly an auto plant), and the Niger group aims to blow up a mine where Skynet gets raw materials (It's never particularly clear why the operations have to be simultaneous). People of different backgrounds come together.
It's a familiar, shallow comic-book story, but by showing us the state of the world heading into the fourth movie, it's serviceable at whetting a fan's appetite for bigger adventures with the main characters.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: He appears in some of Elena's L.A. flashbacks and we see his inspiring radio transmissions to the Resistance around the world. Summing up the almost magical pull John has on the troops, Elena whispers as her dying words: "I believe you'll be the one to lead us to victory, John Connor. And I would do anything for you" (Issue 4). As with "From the Ashes," we don't see how John gains his leadership and strategic skills in the "T3"/"T4" movie timeline.
Kate Connor: Also appears in Elena's flashbacks.
The Detroit Resistance cell: Elena is the leader. She knows John Connor from a brief meeting in 2016 in L.A. and still keeps in touch with him (1). William is the communications expert. Jackson is a former member of a group of sewer-dwelling holdouts who reluctantly joins the Resistance when his family is killed. William, a young black man, and Jackson, a redneck, clash.
The Niger Resistance cell: Bem is the leader. Lysette is the doctor. Yusuf is the tech expert. The Nigerian Bem knows Elena from their radio communications and hopes to meet her in person someday. Lysette, a Frenchwoman who had a cushy corporate job before J-Day, and Yusuf, a poor Syrian who was working the Nigerian mines, clash. Bem speaks both French and Arabic, but the other two aren't bilingual, and the language gap is part of why they can't relate to each other.
Generals Ashdown and Losenko: Mentioned offhandedly by John (2), we'll meet these Resistance generals in "Salvation."
TERMINATORS
T-600s (with and without rubbery Infiltrator skin): John notes that they are "slow and heavy" and that usually you can at least run away, but as with "From the Ashes," they are difficult to destroy. One fighter sees a T-600 with rubber skin and says it is "one of them new models supposed to look like us."
Sidewinders: Essentially aboveground electric eel Terminators, they can electrocute humans and mess up electronics (1). A teaser to "Salvation."
CONTINUITY AND CONTRADICTIONS
Continuing on the "T3"/"T4" movie timeline, "Sand in the Gears" is set in 2018, before the events of the movie "T4: Salvation," which takes place later that year. It's not crystal clear if this comic takes place before or after "From the Ashes." The Terminator Wiki says "Sand in the Gears" takes place first.
It's interesting to note that – as we can see from the dissemination of his 2004 broadcast and his work with Elena in 2016 -- John is a worldwide inspiration to Resistance cells BEFORE he is formally brought into the Resistance command structure at the end of "From the Ashes." This isn't necessarily a continuity glitch, but it is an odd choice by the storytellers.
Destruction from J-Day is shown in Los Angeles, Washington, Beijing, India, Moscow, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Saudi Arabia and Paris, and we see that John's radio message of hope from the end of "T3" had been transmitted worldwide (1).
In his introduction to the trade paperback, "Sarah Connor Chronicles" producer James Middleton says "Naraghi is the first to delve into the details of the human resistance on an international scale." This is wildly and hilariously untrue, as international stories date all the way back to the first spinoff stories from Now Comics. Granted, it is the first international story on THIS timeline.
The way Elena tries to recruit Jackson and his sewer-dwelling group parallels the attempts of John's group to recruit people from Moldering Lost Ashes in "From the Ashes."
Detroit was also the setting of Dark Horse's "RoboCop vs. The Terminator" (1992) – and likewise, Skynet repurposed auto plants as Terminator factories -- but "Sand in the Gears" marks Africa's debut as a location in "Terminator" lore.
Elena and some of her colleagues are picked up by a Skynet aircraft in L.A. and, presumably due to a malfunction, are dropped in Detroit. John tells Elena the aircraft was a "Harvester" (4). They are known for capturing live humans, but the Resistance doesn't know what the purpose is. This is a teaser to "Salvation."
TIMELINES AND TIME TRAVEL
Fitting with the "Salvation" franchise's (somewhat refreshing) aim to focus on the details of the Future War, there is no time travel and no talk of timelines in this comic series.
TerminatorComic booksWed, 31 May 2017 00:07:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/5/31/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Salvation-Sand-in-the-Gears-2009‘Buffy’ comics go back to ‘The High School Years’ to hook young readershttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/3/16/Buffy-comics-go-back-to-The-High-School-Years-to-hook-young-readers
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After making my list of the top "Buffy" 20 episodes for the 20th anniversary, I had a hankering to go back to the time when 12 of those episodes take place: The high school years of Seasons 1-3. Luckily, Dark Horse launched <a href="https://digital.darkhorse.com/series/741/buffy-the-high-school-years" target="_blank">"Buffy: The High School Years"</a> with two comics last year, and with more forthcoming. Both Faith Erin Hicks' "Freaks & Geeks" (no relation to the TV show of that name) and Kel McDonald's "Glutton for Punishment" are set during Season 1, so we're talking about stories with a depth on par with "The Witch" or "I Robot, You Jane" – although even a bit shallower than that.
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Through the years, the "Buffy" franchise hasn't gone out of its way to attract new fans; it just lets people find the episodes. So I believe this is the first "Buffy" project not aimed at established fans of the show. The target audience seems to be the youngest possible "Buffy" fans, who would enjoy the most basic elements of the most basic Monster of the Week episodes in the first season, and need to be eased into the deeper stuff. These 78-page comics – smaller in height and width than a standard comic but bigger than a digest – don't reinvent "Buffy" as a kiddie title, but they do stick with the simplest high school themes and don't venture a mere step beyond them.
Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles are in character, and suitably quippy – but refreshingly NOT to the five-quips-and-references-per-panel extremes of the main series, which is now in Season 11. The authors struggle to find themes not already explored; in both issues, Buffy deals with being tired in class after a night of slaying. While the problem of teens being forced to attend school when it'd be healthier if they slept longer is worth illuminating, it's not dramatically fascinating.
"Freaks' " villains are a quartet of recently-turned-but-still-nerdy vampires (like a mix between the vampire wannabes in "Lie to Me" and Season 6's Trio) who decide they'll get coolness points if they kill the Slayer. "Glutton" features a shifty substitute teacher (see also "Teacher's Pet") who turns into a giant tiger and forces the best students in the home economics class to cook for him. Naturally, Xander cheats by bringing in store-bought pastries and ends up a captive.
I would've preferred more TV-real likenesses, but Yishan Li's Manga-lite stylings are cute. The fashions are appropriately Season 1-ish, and "The High School Years" avoids two pitfalls that sometimes befell other "Buffy" comics through the years. First, the references (what there are, anyway) are time-appropriate. The only one that feels off is when one of the new vamps says she ordered a book of spells off eBay; the online auction company didn't get its name until later in 1997, but at least it's close. Second, Dawn is not in the series, as she shouldn't be, since she doesn't exist yet.
Even though it spends a lot of time on things that should be boring – such as Willow and Buffy trying to bake cookies – "The High School Years" is easy to like and easy to breeze through thanks to the authors' sense of how the Scoobies talk. For example, Xander quips that the home ec teacher has gone missing because "the Hellmouth didn't like her cooking," and the gang gradually realizes Xander's joke is a likely theory of what happened. With all of the flavor but little of the nutrition of Season 1, these comics make me want to re-read the earliest comics and novels, which – if memory serves – are meatier than this. On the other hand, there's nothing un-"Buffy" about these books, which is refreshing in this day and age when so much stuff is unnecessarily reinvented.
Comic booksBuffy/AngelThu, 16 Mar 2017 00:39:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/3/16/Buffy-comics-go-back-to-The-High-School-Years-to-hook-young-readers‘Batman’ flashback: ‘The Killing Joke’ (1988)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/1/24/Batman-flashback-The-Killing-Joke-1988
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//batman-killing-joke.jpg">
(Note to readers: This is part of a series where I look back at various works of "Batman" lore from the perspective of a heretofore casual "Batman" fan who enjoys the current TV series, "Gotham.")
Completing the holy trinity of Bat-comics, after "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Batman: Year One," comes <a href="http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Batman:_The_Killing_Joke" target="_blank">"The Killing Joke"</a> (1988). While Frank Miller wrote the first two, another comics legend, Alan Moore, penned this one. I know him best from "V for Vendetta," which came out concurrently with "The Killing Joke" (and which was beautifully adapted into a movie in 2006) and five odd-but-fascinating "Star Wars: Devilworlds" tales.
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A graphic novel the length of two standard comics, this essential tale of Batman's arch-nemesis is shorter than the other two classics, but it has generated perhaps even more discussion, springing from two questions: 1) Is Joker's origin story, as presented here, accurate? And 2) Did Batman kill the Joker on the final page?
It's fun to go down the rabbit hole of the web to explore different theories, but my first impression is that the answer to both questions is "no."
Artist Brian Bolland's colors – which for the 2008 deluxe edition replaced John Higgins' original, more rushed colors – present clues that Joker's origin story is not accurate. Bolland highlights dream-world details in red amid otherwise sepia-toned panels – details that are odd even within the context of Gotham. Joker's wife has a bowl of tentacles on the kitchen table; the thieves who hire Joker are eating bugs in a bar, which features people barfing, slumped over tables or grinning maniacally in the background; the thieves make Joker wear a Red Hood for no good reason; the idea that they need Joker to lead them through an industrial plant to a playing-card factory is illogical; it's unlikely that the police would know where to find Joker to report his wife's death; and the wife's electrocution-by-baby-bottle-heater demise is itself bizarre.
It's safe to say that this is not the definitive Joker origin story. Indeed, Joker himself says "Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another." I think there is a kernel of truth to it, though. While this might not be how Joker's "one bad day" unfolded in reality, it's psychologically true in his mind. His true, without-a-doubt origin story has never been told in 75-plus years of Batman comics, which is rather appropriate for this character. ("Gotham" is in the process of sort of telling a Joker origin story, although it is focusing more on the way proto-Joker Jerome Valeska's outlook has infected other Gothamites, leading to a cult of the Joker – amid which Jerome returned to life in Monday's episode, and from which the "real" Joker might spring forth.)
One thing that is clarified in "The Killing Joke," for me at least, is that Joker does not wear face paint like a clown. Batman discovers Joker's imposter in Arkham Asylum by noticing he is painted white. Joker's skin actually is white, which again suggests a nugget of truth to the backstory, where he is deformed by falling into a vat of chemicals (which, before "Batman and Robin," wasn't quite as much of a cliché).
The question of whether Batman killed the Joker is an odd debate. He obviously didn't, because Joker appeared in "Batman" comics after this. While some have contended that "Killing Joke" is an Elseworlds story (i.e., outside of the official continuity, like "Dark Knight Returns"), that theory falls apart due to the fact that it includes a central point of the lore: Joker shoots and paralyzes Barbara Gordon, marking her transition from Batgirl to Oracle. (In the TV show "Birds of Prey," Barbara is paralyzed when she's thrown into a support column during a fight between Batman and Joker.)
That's not to say the final page, taken in and of itself, is clear. Moore and Bolland intended it to be ambiguous. Batman laughs at the Joker's joke, then he reaches for his nemesis, whose laughter stops. Meanwhile, the headlight beams from the approaching police cars are turned off; this links to Joker's joke about a man who would walk across a flashlight beam between rooftops, but he'll fall to his death if the beam is turned off.
I am a fan of some ambiguous endings. I think the end of "Last Man Standing: A Tale of Boba Fett" in "Star Wars: Tales of the Bounty Hunters" (1996) is brilliant: Han and Fett point guns at each other and debate whether to let fly (likely getting them both killed), or just walk away. "The Killing Joke" is similar. From the beginning, Batman is hoping there's a way that his conflict with the Joker can end without death on either side. Joker, in an affecting panel, gives a rare straight answer: "No. I'm sorry, but ... No. It's too late for that. Far too late."
I didn't like this one quite as much, because I'm imagining how much more impactful it would be if we heard a "crack" of Batman breaking Joker's neck, or alternatively, saw a panel of Batman handing Joker off to the police, so he can be returned to Arkham and/or charged with his new crimes. The latter is what has to have happened in order to allow for future Joker stories, but it would've been nice to see that illustrated in light of Gordon's order that Batman do this "by the book" – despite the fact that Joker shot his daughter, took nude pictures of her, stripped Gordon naked and put him on a roller coaster, and made Gordon look at the pictures.
It's a fine line to walk, but "Last Man Standing" made me think "Wow, that's a cool ending," whereas "The Killing Joke" made me want to see more pages – not only the scene of Batman arresting Joker, but also perhaps an epilogue with Gordon, Barbara and Bruce. (It's a good character-based cliffhanger, though, because "The Killing Joke" does make me want to check in on Barbara in her early Oracle days.) Even though those pages write themselves – which is perhaps why Moore opted for a more artistic ending – I think it would've been satisfying to see them.
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Interestingly, "The Killing Joke" gained another layer of controversy when it was adapted into an animated movie last year. In order to pad out the running time, it includes a prologue focusing on Barbara Gordon. As far as I can tell from a perusal of the web, this prologue does not come from the comics. Part of the purpose – and joy – of these DC adaptations is that they are faithful to the source material. If they blatantly diverted from that principle, I can understand the complaints.
Moore and Ballard's book, though, stands as a classic examination of the gap that separates Batman and the Joker. We're shown how similar they are (Bruce, of course, was changed by "one bad day" just like the Joker was), but we're ultimately shown the key difference: The Joker wants Batman to cut loose and be as crazy as he is, but Batman won't take the bait. That's the gap that separates a hero from a villain.
BatmanComic booksTue, 24 Jan 2017 02:08:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/1/24/Batman-flashback-The-Killing-Joke-1988‘Batman’ flashback: ‘Batman: Year One’ (1987)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/1/22/Batman-flashback-Batman-Year-One-1987
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//batman-year-one.jpg">
(Note to readers: This is part of a series where I look back at various works of "Batman" lore from the perspective of a heretofore casual "Batman" fan who enjoys the current TV series, "Gotham.")
Just as "The Dark Knight Returns" is considered the definitive late-career Batman story, <a href="http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Batman:_Year_One" target="_blank">"Batman: Year One"</a> (1987) is hailed as the definitive early career Batman story. Remarkably, they were both written by Frank Miller, and within a year's time. (And they're both SET in the mid-Eighties, which requires a reader to understand the comic-book principles of multiverses and floating timelines.) But while "Returns" trod all-new ground, "Year One" trod ground that was already covered: Batman's origin story, as told in "Detective Comics" No. 33 (1939) and "Batman" No. 27 (1948).
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Although one could go down a rabbit hole examining alterations to the lore between the Golden Age and Silver Age, suffice it to say that DC didn't want to alter Batman's origin much for the Copper Age, even as it updated the origins of Superman and Wonder Woman (Wait, so they got new origins?! That's another side trip I'll avoid for now.). As DC editor Denny O'Neil (also a great Bat-writer for "Legends of the Dark Knight," which added to the lore established by "Year One") explains in the introduction to the "Year One" trade paperback: "The writers and artists had quick and clear ideas of how to update Superman and Wonder Woman, but Batman was a problem. He was fine just as he was. The origin that Bob Kane and Bill Finger created in 1939 was a perfect explanation of how and why Batman came to be. ... But it might be improved. It could be given depth, complexity, a wider context. Details could be added to give it focus and credibility."
For a layperson like me who isn't ready to explore multiverses or retcons just yet, "Year One" is the definitive Batman comic origin story. As we enter the tale, some foundational elements are in place: Bruce's parents were killed when he was 8, Alfred is Batman's only ally and the only one who knows his secret identity, and there's a cave under Wayne Manor that's home to numerous bats. But other than that, Miller is starting fresh.
As much an origin story for James Gordon as it is for Batman, "Year One" explains how the pair become allies in the fight against crime – particularly within the corrupt-to-its-core Gotham Police Department. To emphasize the fact that it starts from scratch, Batman arrives in Gotham at age 25 after a 12-year absence (I imagine he was training in martial arts overseas, a la "Batman Begins"). Gordon, formerly a cop in Chicago and about a decade older than Bruce, arrives to start his new post as a lieutenant in the GCPD.
The title comes from the fact that the four-issue story (originally published in "Batman" 404-407) takes place over the course of a calendar year. It has some gaps that allow for future stories, including several in "Legends of the Dark Knight" (which launched in 1989) that became colloquially known as Year One stories. But it's thematically tight. It illustrates the bond between Gordon and Batman despite the fact that they barely meet in this first year of Bats' exploits. ("Gotham" is similarly spirited, but it takes place before Bruce becomes Batman, and the pair do occasionally interact.) On Nov. 3, on the book's second-to-last panel, Bruce saves Gordon's infant son and hands him back to his father, who has lost his glasses and therefore can't see Bruce clearly.
Paralleling Bruce's realization that Gordon could be an ally (page 66: "I need an ally ... an inside man. I need Jim Gordon. On my side.") is Gordon's realization that black-and-white cop-and-criminal rules – which presumably worked OK in the Windy City -- don't apply in Gotham. On the final panel of Chapter Three, he's kept awake by thoughts running through his head in Miller's poetic noir style: "He's a criminal. I'm a cop. It's that simple. But – but I'm a cop in a city where the mayor and the commissioner of police use cops as hired killers. ... He saved that old woman. ... He saved that cat. ... He even paid for that suit. ... The hunk of metal in my hands is heavier than ever."
David Mazzucchelli's art and Richmond Lewis' colors are delicious. A particularly illustrative series of panels comes at the start of Chapter Two, when Gordon drives through the pouring rain to get to a hostage standoff so he can take charge. The richness of the details – the way it makes Gotham City live and breathe – reminds me of the early Eastman/Laird work on "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" during this same period, except E&L embellished their work with duo-tones, not color. Among Lewis' most striking use of color is the twilight blue sky on page 84 of the trade paperback, as Batman sweeps through the evening on his Batwing. I like how different sequences are marked by different color schemes; for instance, the SWAT team's attack on Batman bridging Chapters Two and Three is told in reds and oranges.
As he drives through the rain, Gordon knows that if "Branden and his lunatic SWAT team" have charge of the situation, people will die and property will be destroyed. Like "Returns," "Year One" is timeless, but daring for its time: In the former, the bad guys are America; here, it's an entire American police department, all the way up to Commissioner Loeb. (Well, almost. Sarah Essen, with whom Gordon has a brief affair, is a good cop. Interestingly, Gordon's wife in "Returns" is named Sarah. Is she the same person?)
And while the militarization of police – including many stories of SWAT teams being used for marijuana raids – became mainstream news in the 21st century, the War on Drugs dates back to the 1970s, and Miller was well aware of the unsavory details that didn't regularly make the evening news. The most striking lines in "Year One" come from the chatter of the SWAT members -- scouring a building for Batman, dismissing a corpse as "just an old wino."
"Year One" is seriously violent and largely humorless, but it is much less grim than "Returns." Yes, Gordon and Bruce are outnumbered, but they aren't alone. Essen is a good cop. Harvey Dent is a good prosecuting attorney. Alfred is a valuable ally.
And then there's Catwoman, who is intrigued by Batman from a distance, although – as with Batman and Gordon – they barely cross paths: Batman is spying on the Roman crime family at the same time Catwoman is stealing from them, so they trip over each other's missions. Controversially, Selina Kyle is portrayed as a prostitute in "Year One," which differs from her previous origin stories, but it's not surprising from the man who would go on to create "Sin City" (that now-famous title, in which a stripper is among the main characters, launched in 1991).
If Selina works as a prostitute, it would perhaps smooth out the relationship between Bruce and Selina in the sense that Batman is probably not interested in going after victimless crime. However, Miller also reveals that Selina is a cat burglar, too, and burglary does have victims. Further graying up the gray area, though, we only see her stealing from a crime family. She also takes care of more than a dozen cats and a young, somewhat whiny fellow prostitute named Holly. (That last point might have influenced "Gotham," where Selina looks after Ivy Pepper, a fellow dweller of the city's streets and abandoned buildings.) Miller puts the pieces in place for Bats' and Cats' famously on-again, off-again relationship, where their ideals sometimes overlap and sometimes clash.
Unlike "Dark Knight Returns" – which I appreciate as a work of art but don't want to wallow in – "Year One" hooks me. It makes me want to read "Year Two" and "Year Three." And the previous eras' Batman origins to compare and contrast. And more Year One stories like "Catwoman: Year One" and "Batgirl: Year One." And more Batman tales from within that first year.
BatmanComic booksSun, 22 Jan 2017 18:19:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/1/22/Batman-flashback-Batman-Year-One-1987‘Batman’ flashback: ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ (1986)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/1/21/Batman-flashback-The-Dark-Knight-Returns-1986
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(Note to readers: This is part of a series where I will look back at various works of "Batman" lore from the perspective of a casual "Batman" fan who enjoys the current TV series, "Gotham.")
Something I should understand as I embark in my "Batman" journey is that I can't be attached to continuity if I'm going to enjoy it. This is hard for me as a "Star Wars" Expanded Universe fan. <a href="http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Batman:_The_Dark_Knight" target="_blank">"The Dark Knight Returns"</a> (1986) is set in the year of its publication (elements such as Reagan being president and a cold war with Russia attest to this); 10 years after Batman's retirement is sparked by the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd; when Bruce is 55 years old; and when Commissioner Gordon is about to retire. But writer Frank Miller – whose work I know from the deliciously stylish "Sin City" movies, which are live-action adaptations of his comics – wasn't following the comic continuity of the time: Batman hadn't been gone from the drugstore racks for a decade when he wrote this; he didn't retire in 1976. Nor was Jason Todd dead, although the mainstream "Batman" comics did kill him off later.
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The simple answer is that Miller created a new timeline for the sake of telling this story. The more complex answer – as a cursory web search tells me -- is that "Dark Knight Returns" is set in the New Earth multiverse, in the branch called Earth-31. It gets more confusing: There are "Dark Knight Returns" prequels set in the 21st century. This is possible because of the comic-book storytelling device of a floating timeline (a.k.a. sliding timescale), which my friend Steve told me about. Under this device, if you're reading a modern-day prequel, you have to imagine it leads into a "Dark Knight Returns" that is set in the future, even though the story (as it is published) takes place in the 1980s.
While the fact that "Returns" exists in a vacuum of continuity leads to some problems (which I'll address later), I'm going to stop thinking too hard about that right now and instead focus on the story. When I asked my colleague Lisa, a longtime casual "Batman" fan who doesn't keep track of the specific multiverses, about the place in the lore of her favorite "Batman" comic series, "Legends of the Dark Knight," she simply said "They were just good stories." That's the only perspective from which to analyze the "Batman" franchise without being driven mad by continuity issues.
"The Dark Knight Returns' " most striking aspect is that while it consists of four issues, it reads like a novel -- it took me about six sittings to get through it. (And "Returns' " movie adaptation from 2012-13 is the only DC animated adaptation that's split into two parts.) Every page is dense. But it flows beautifully, as Miller intersperses TV news blowhards talking about the issues with the actual events in Gotham: The rise of the criminal Mutants, the reactionary rise of the crime-fighting Sons of Batman, Batman himself mulling a return to action, and 13-year-old girl Carrie Kelley deciding to become the new Robin.
This Gotham feels familiar right off the bat (no pun intended), as newscasters note: "It's 97, with no relief in sight. ... This heat wave has sparked many acts of civil violence here in Gotham City." Off the top of my head, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and "Predator 2" – both from 1990 – started with a big-city heat/crime wave. In the fourth book, nuclear winter descends; again, I'm reminded of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," but in this case the opening arc of the Eastman/Laird comics, when the Turtles retreat to Massachusetts in a snowy winter. Those issues came out soon after "Dark Knight Returns." This story is too layered to be ripped off, but there's an ambiance to it that might have seeped into the psyches of other comic-book and action-film storytellers.
The biggest accomplishment of Miller's work is that it hasn't aged a bit in 31 years. In a story that includes Eighties elements like Reagan, nuclear warfare, Letterman, neon arcades and punk fashions (the Mutants wear visors, and the SOBs have colorful Batman symbols tattooed on their faces), this theme is timeless: The blurring of the line between the good guys and the bad guys. In the 2010s, we hear about legal crimes committed by supposed "bad guys" (whistleblower Edward Snowden) and moral crimes committed by supposed "good guys" (the cops who killed Eric Garner for selling untaxed cigarettes). I don't know if Miller was going for a snapshot of 1986 or for timelessness, but "Returns" is not thematically dated at all.
While not many stories are set in the "Dark Knight Returns" timeline, its influence on other "Batman" works is substantial. Miller introduced the dark, psychologically troubled version of Batman, and the scary, crime-ridden Gotham. It seeped into the Burtonverse movies and "The Animated Series" of the 1990s and -- more overtly – the "Dark Knight" film trilogy of the 2000s and this decade's "Gotham." This contrasted with previous versions, including the most mainstream take, which was 180 degrees removed from Miller's: The Caped Crusader from the 1960s TV show.
To cite more specific influences: The massive-wheeled Batcycle and tank-like Batmobile pop up in the "Dark Knight" film trilogy. Jared Leto's Joker in "Suicide Squad," with an emphasis on the green hair and white face and less wild stylization than other interpretations, looks a lot like this Joker, as drawn by Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley. An armored Batsuit appears in "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," which also takes up the concept of a middle-aged Batman and his fight with Superman – although the thing they are fighting about is different. And the closing "funeral" here is Batman's; in that movie, it's Superman's.
The character who surprised me the most – and who is my favorite character here – is Carrie Kelley, a teenage Gothamite with neglectful parents and (unfortunately unexplained) acrobatic skills who buys a costume, sneaks out of her apartment window, climbs down a drain pipe and becomes the new Robin. (There are rumors that Carrie Kelley will be the Robin in the DC film universe, perhaps played by Jena Malone, which would make her older than this version.)
It feels right that if Robin is not one person, but rather a series of people taking up that name while serving as Batman's sidekick, that one of them can be a girl. Robin's name and costume are both unisex. And it was somewhat of a novelty in early 1986 – Ripley didn't mow down xenomorphs in "Aliens" until later that year -- to have a female action hero outside of nonhuman superheroes like Wonder Woman and Supergirl. Yes, there was Batgirl, but only in the safer, pre-Dark Knight version of "Batman."
Kelley's presence in the story is essential because she brings a dash of youthful exuberance (she often views Batman's exploits with wide-eyed or grinning amazement) to an otherwise relentlessly grim story. While "Returns" has satire (for example, Reagan saying "We must protect our interests – I mean! Fight for freedom!"), it's a resigned, cynical form of satire. But it ALMOST becomes worthy of a smile when Batman tells Robin she's "fired" if she doesn't follow his instructions, and I'll grasp any sliver of light in this story.
Because "Returns" is not continued from a specific existing narrative, that gives it a bit of a cold feeling at times. We get the general sense of Batman's past rivalries with Two-Face and the Joker, and Green Arrow's late-in-the-game appearance mostly works. Like Batman, he has retired from professional superhero-dom in order to avoid the wrath of the Reagan establishment that has turned on superheroes who don't toe the line. We don't know why he's missing an arm, but we can grasp his bitterness and understand why he joins Batman in the fight against Supes. That having been said, the fact that the backstories are merely sketches creates an emotional hole when we see Two-Face, the Joker and Green Arrow.
The latter fallen icon – who, like Batman, is a superhero with no superpowers – is one of many people who are inspired by Batman to do the right thing in "Returns" because he sets the example, and has a history of doing so. Gordon understands this; the new anti-Batman commissioner, Yindel, does not: "Maybe you'll understand someday," Gordon says as he hands off the reins.
Through Gordon's words, Miller is noting that the DC Universe has a Batman, but the real world does not, and we're worse off for it. Ironically, we're also worse off for our insatiable desire to find a Batman. Everyone who ascends to widespread respect also seems to have a dark side; Miller specifically picks on the beloved Reagan as the embodiment of imperialism, which makes sense for a 1986-penned work, but all U.S. presidents since then could effortlessly hold this role. Politicians are probably the worst cohort to look to for heroes (celebrities are also pretty bad options), but the populace struggles to lionize an extraordinary common person. Maybe no one is equipped to fill the Batman-sized hole in the real world – the amount of machine-gun fire he dodges in "Returns" is, after all, pure wish-fulfillment. Any prospective "real" Batman died in training before we even knew him.
And besides, there remains the question: How does Batman hit that sweet spot where he is accepted as a leader without any official authority backing him? Indeed, the authorities from the city level to the national level aggressively oppose him. Imperialist America and its henchman, Superman, are the villains here; that alone made this comic daring for its time. But it's nice that we can somewhat see Superman's perspective.
I'm not crazy about either Batman-Superman conflict, but the one in "Dark Knight Returns" makes more sense than the one in "Dawn of Justice," where Batman attacks Superman based on a sketchy vision of a possible future. In "Returns," Superman's taken-too-far nationalism is worthy of pity, because he started from a noble position. On Reagan's implied orders ("Do what you have to do"), Superman decides to take out Batman because the public has turned against the Dark Knight, and Supes feels serving the public's wants is the best long-term strategy. I don't agree with that, but at least Superman has thought about this long and hard; he isn't merely reacting, as Batman does in "Dawn of Justice."
Batman stands against all the things that Superman and imperialist America stand for, and that are parodied throughout the book, particularly the notion that listening to politicians and TV pundits allows us to accurately label a person, or accurately define an issue.
But what Batman stands FOR is murkier. Batman isn't an authoritarian, but he's also not an anarchist. He doesn't particularly care about individual liberty, so he doesn't fit the mold of a libertarian hero the way his contemporary V from Alan Moore's "V for Vendetta" (1987-88) does. As he sarcastically says to one of his criminal targets during a shakedown: "Yeah, you've got rights. Lots of 'em." Often in "Returns," I don't like Batman, even though I always like him more than Superman, Two-Face, the Joker and the various street criminals who try to gun him down.
It might be as straightforward as common decency and always doing the right thing. On Batman's word, the Mutants, the Sons of Batman, the citizen looters and the public officials – every cohort of which is at least some degree of villainous -- all get together to become heroes and put out the fires in the heart of Gotham caused by a plane crash. This is Pollyanna-ish for such a grim story, but the point is that Batman has the power to make this happen by being Batman. Superman, a more obvious candidate to be an inspirational figure (indeed, Reagan calls him "the next best thing" to God), does not, because he has chosen to serve as a cog in the machine.
So I side with Batman. Still, I feel somewhat chastened by story's end for rooting for anyone in "The Dark Knight Returns" – which I suspect is the point.
Not just important for learning the historical roots of the Dark Knight version of Batman, Miller's classic holds up as a layered read that illuminates both the 1980s and timeless societal struggles. It's not the "Batman" universe I'd like to spend most of my time in (at this point in my explorations, I'm partial to "The Animated Series," "Gotham" and some entries in "Legends of the Dark Knight"), but I can appreciate why it gets referenced so often as a piece that influenced both "Batman" and the wider comics industry.
BatmanComic booksSat, 21 Jan 2017 13:10:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/1/21/Batman-flashback-The-Dark-Knight-Returns-1986Entertainment Weekly’s 50 Most Powerful Superheroes list has absurd omissionshttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/10/18/Entertainment-Weeklys-50-Most-Powerful-Superheroes-list-has-absurd-omissions
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I asked my friend Jeremy if he had checked out <a href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/10/12/50-most-powerful-superheroes-ew" target="_blank">Entertainment Weekly's 50 Most Powerful Superheroes list</a> in the latest issue and he said he doesn't "pay attention to those crap lists." But then he quickly noted the oddity of a 50 Most Powerful Superheroes list where "powers" count for 10 out of 100 possible points.
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Undeniably, EW's list is doing what it's supposed to do: get people talking. Still, it's a problematic list, for several reasons. It's not the first time EW has put out <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2009/8/1/Spike-should-be-on-the-20-greatest-vampires-list" target="_blank">a list with a big snub,</a> but it really should've done better since this list was more scientific, featuring a chart of scores in "cultural impact," "bankability," "design," "modern relevance," "mythology," "nemeses," "originality," "personality" and "powers." At least it should've outlined its criteria so we could make sense of the oddities. Such as:
NON-COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS GET ALMOST COMPLETELY SNUBBED
The list includes 49 characters who originated in comic books, and one who did not -- Buffy Summers from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which was first a movie but is best known as a TV series, although yes, it is now a comic. Throw in the fact that EW references other characters' impact outside of comics (for example, Wolverine's portrayal by Hugh Jackman in the "X-Men" films), and it's clear that this isn't a comics-only list, or at least it's not supposed to be. But somehow there wasn't room for Faith or Angel or Willow. Or, to continue the Joss Whedon theme, River or Echo.
Or Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter. Or other "HP" characters like Hermione, who is at the center of the superhero-themed Bullseye on the back page: "If you don't think this girl's a superhero, you're just plain Ron." I DO think she's a superhero, though; it's EW itself that snubbed her. EW says it considered 155 candidates; I'd be interested to know if any of the aforementioned snubs ranked below 50. Maybe characters not at all associated with comics were not considered. That explains the "HP" omissions, and why Buffy was considered. But it doesn't explain the "Star Wars" omissions, as "SW" has a massive comic presence. The mind boggles.
NON-SUPERPOWERED CHARACTERS MOSTLY GET SNUBBED
Batman, Robin and Batgirl make the list, so it's clear that having superpowers is not a requirement for being a superhero. A handful of non-superpowered Marvel characters make the cut, too. Seemingly, this would open up EW to include someone like Katniss Everdeen from "The Hunger Games," who doesn't have superpowers but who is a larger-than-life Chosen One. Likely, the comic-book rule applies here, although this is never explicitly stated by EW.
FANTASY-UNIVERSE CHARACTERS GET SNUBBED
Maybe EW's criteria was that if the fictional world is sufficiently removed from the real world, those characters weren't considered. That might explain the absence of "Star Wars" characters, as that saga takes place in another galaxy, in another time. But that's a stretch considering that all of the top 50 characters come from highly stylized versions of the real world, and that many of them have worlds-within-worlds on par with "HP," such as the mythologies of Thor and Doctor Strange.
WONDER WOMAN IS OVERRATED
There's no way to criticize the No. 1 pick without being politically incorrect or sounding sexist, but what the heck – an objective look at Wonder Woman's status in all of EW's categories shows she is being overrated. Don't get me wrong: Gal Godot's turn as WW is the best part of "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice." Her solo movie next year will probably be good; it's certainly long overdue. WW is on my short list of superheroes I want to see on the big screen. But she shouldn't be awarded before that movie comes out, just like President Obama shouldn't have been awarded with a Nobel Peace Prize before he had compiled a record as Commander in Chief (which, it turned out, wasn't peace-oriented by any measure). And what if the movie sucks?
Linda Carter's portrayal is iconic, but no one watches that 1970s TV show today or analyzes specific storylines. The 2011 TV pilot was canceled before it aired, and people who have seen the pilot say it deserved to be canceled. And this was in an era where the disadvantage of being a female-led show had long since been obliterated by "Buffy," "Xena," "Alias," etc. Yes, WW was invented first, but by being mostly confined to comics, she hasn't had a mainstream impact as great as Buffy, Katniss, Hermione, Padme or Rey. Batman, Spider-Man and Superman are bigger commercial successes than Wonder Woman and have had bigger cultural impact; those are objective facts. In part, those facts come from industry bias against female superheroes, but they also come from the historical fact that – until recently – girls were less interested than boys in consuming superhero culture. It's great that that has changed, but EW is jumping the gun; as of this point in time, WW is not more iconic than Batman by any measure.
THE LIST IS A WEIRD HODGEPODGE OF MAINSTREAM AND INSIDER SELECTIONS
As noted, this list snubs all non-comic characters other than Buffy Summers, all non-superhero characters who didn't originate in comics, and most characters from universes sufficiently removed from contemporary Earth (such as "Harry Potter" or "Star Wars"). But it's not a comic-book insider list either. The writers don't cite Wonder Woman's amazing comic-book arcs as justification for her spot at No. 1; they cite her status as the first and most famous female comic-book superhero -- which in a male-dominated superhero world, makes the achievement more impressive, and therefore gives her the tiebreaker, essentially.
This is a dangerous rabbit hole to go down, though. Maybe Spider-Man should get extra points for being of human origin in an alien-dominated superhero world. Maybe Batman should get extra points for being a completely normal human in a superpower-dominated superhero world. Maybe Black Panther should get extra points for being a black superhero in a white-superhero-dominated world. Maybe Xander or Giles should get bonus points because they contributed to the good fight without having superpowers, whereas the rest of the Scooby Gang did. Maybe poor superheroes like Kick-Ass should get a nod over rich superheroes like Batman and Iron Man. And so forth.
Beyond the shaky choice for No. 1, the list becomes pretty much a ranking of commercial success and name recognition, as WW is followed by Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, Wolverine, Iron Man, Captain America and The Hulk. Then it gets somewhat into comic-book insider mode, with Black Panther at No. 9 as the highest-ranking character who an Average Joe on the street might not recognize. Others in the not-quite-mainstream category include Deadpool, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Luke Cage, Nick Fury, Hellboy, Falcon, Vision, Jessica Jones, Punisher, Shazam, Morpheus and Dr. Manhattan. Those characters are known to comic and pop-culture geeks, but in the mainstream, they are certainly more obscure than Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen.
SOME OTHER ODDITIES ...
Superman ranks higher than Supergirl in the "powers" category: Superman rates a 9.7, Supergirl rates an 8.3. They have the exact same powers and weakness (kryptonite). Superman is more experienced using his powers, sure, but that shouldn't account for such a wide gap; if Superman is a 9.7, Supergirl should be at least a 9.5. An 8.3 is indefensible.
Rogue scores a mere 7.0 in "powers": "X-Men's" Rogue can kill people with her touch, and permanently absorb all of their powers. Granted, she chooses not to do this, because she's a good guy. But still, it doesn't get much more powerful than that, and she should arguably be scored at 10.0. Maybe 9.8 if you want to account for the idea that she's timid about using her powers. But not 7.0, which is the same score given to Batman, who -- aside from having cutting-edge tech and being in great shape -- has the same powers I do.
The Fantastic Four take up four spots: EW openly admits in some of the write-ups that the Fantastic Four haven't had a good movie incarnation yet, but they still take up four spots in the top 50. And as with WW, the writers don't outline the great comic arcs that put them on the list; basically, they are just well-known enough to make the cut even if the franchise has garnered a Fantastic Snore from movie-goers. Heck, the Invisible Woman isn't even Jessica Alba's most iconic superhero role; that would be Max from "Dark Angel."
What did you think of EW's rankings? What were the biggest snubs? Share your thoughts below.
MoviesTelevisionComic booksTue, 18 Oct 2016 17:37:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/10/18/Entertainment-Weeklys-50-Most-Powerful-Superheroes-list-has-absurd-omissions‘Dollhouse’ flashback: ‘Epitaphs’ comic series (2011-12)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/9/14/Dollhouse-flashback-Epitaphs-comic-series-201112
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On the Season 2 DVD, Joss Whedon says "Dollhouse" was a pebble he could've turned over for as much as seven seasons. Unfortunately, we only got 26 episodes, but <a href="http://dollhouse.wikia.com/wiki/Epitaphs" target="_blank">"Epitaphs"</a> (2011-12) – a six-issue comic book series from Dark Horse – turns over the pebble of this great concept a little bit more.
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In essays about the show (I recommend "Inside Joss' Dollhouse: From Alpha to Rossum"), the episodes "Epitaph One" and "Epitaph Two: Return" are mentioned an inordinate amount. This because they conclude the saga's storyline, jumping ahead a decade to show an apocalypse where most of humanity has been mind-wiped into Dumbshows or mind-controlled into violent Butchers by the twisted Rossum Corporation.
Although I liked those episodes a lot more on my recent rewatch, they left me cold when they first aired, and they still kind of do. This is a function of the fact that there's a decade of missing story after "The Hollow Men," the conclusive "present day" episode of the series. "Epitaphs" fills in that gap, and it's by husband-and-wife "Dollhouse" staff writers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharden (along with Andrew Chambliss), so it's safe to say the story came from ideas that would've been thrown around in the writers' room if the show had continued. Indeed, this storyline may have been discussed anyway, just so the "Epitaph" episodes would have a solid backstory.
Although I sometimes think "epitaph" means "epilogue," it of course refers to words written on a gravestone. As with the episodes that have this title, the heroes in "Epitaphs" are surrounded by death. The innocent Dumbshows are being killed by Butchers. There are also Wielders, people who go around imprinting people as Butchers. All of these groups spring from Rossum's twisted tech. A lot of the plot deals with the back-and-forth of Rossum finding a way to imprint people and our heroes shutting that down, then Rossum coming up with a new strategy, and so forth.
The interesting pebble-turning is the character stuff, though. In "Epitaphs," we learn how Alpha became good. It happens seemingly overnight on the show; it's a process here. Partly influenced by an imprint of Ballard, partly because his true self is gaining control of his evil selves, he fights the good fight. Intriguingly, the good Alpha is able to do so thanks to a compromise with his evil selves, whom he lets loose at times, but only against Butchers.
One of the show's missed opportunities was digging into multiple imprints of the same person interacting with each other. We did get Topher talking on the phone to "himself" (an imprinted Victor) once, but "Epitaphs" goes further through the character(s) of Ivy. Played by Liza Lapira, Ivy was Topher's assistant; it always seemed like the writers had more planned for her -- some fans still theorize she was Ballard's secret contact within the Dollhouse in Season 1, some theorized she was a doll like Dr. Saunders. As it turned out, Topher told her to leave when things heated up late in Season 2. The comic tells us she went to the Toyko Dollhouse.
Although Ivy 1.0 isn't in "Epitaphs," three imprinted versions of her are: a hot woman, a plump woman and a man. Entertaining scenes find the Ivies sexually experimenting with each other, which in and of itself is a commentary either on Ivy's self-love or the concept that we're drawn to people with common interests.
The plot (or characterization, as it were) thickens: The male Ivy is attracted to the hot Ivy but not the plump version. (S)he admits that the male hormones have affected her decision-making. We saw in the series that the soul (metaphorical on "Dollhouse," unlike in the Buffyverse) – the truest self -- is linked to the body, whereas imprinted minds are not. But the Ivy arc in the comic is gives a fresh angle, because it shows the impact of the body's automatic functions on the mind. The body trumps an imprinted mind in "Dollhouse."
The action of "Epitaphs" bounces back and forth between two groups: One features Alpha, some Ivies and a new character, a Tech-Head (people who can retain a sense of self but can swap out implants) named Trevor. The other group features Mag and Zone, whom we had only known from the "Epitaph" episodes. Ballard and Echo only pop up late in the game. There's no sign of Victor, Sierra, Topher or DeWitt, even though they are alive during this time (a note at the back of the trade paperback says DeWitt was in an early draft). Trevor is given such weight in the story that I'm guessing Jed Whedon and Tancharden had more story to tell but the series just didn't sell well enough.
Nonetheless, "Dollhouse" fans will want to pick up the trade paperback to get a fuller picture of how the thoughtpocalypse came about and how Alpha became good, while also seeing that pebble turned over a few more times.
DollhouseComic booksWed, 14 Sep 2016 00:32:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/9/14/Dollhouse-flashback-Epitaphs-comic-series-201112‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Knight Errant’ comics (2010-12)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/8/31/Star-Wars-flashback-Knight-Errant-comics-201012
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<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knight_Errant" target="_blank">"Knight Errant"</a> (2010-12), John Jackson Miller's second "Star Wars" saga after "Knights of the Old Republic," has one of the darkest possible premises: Lone Jedi Knight Kerra Holt tries to gather up slaves from Sith territory to bring to Republic space as refugees. This is a time – one generation before the "Darth Bane" novels -- when the Sith are so dominant in one part of the galaxy that the Republic gives up on it, even shutting down communications relays. Kerra's mission is not to win, but simply to save lives.
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Yet from the pen of Miller – who also brought a level of lightness to "KOTOR" that contrasted with "Tales of the Jedi," set just before that – the three five-issue volumes of "Knight Errant" (along with the <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/2/24/Knight-Errant-has-a-hint-of-Asimovs-Foundation-saga" target="_blank">novel</a>) are a lot of fun. Although these are life-or-death stories, a reader gets a curious sense of glee from reading about the Sith wars, particularly the two warring villains, the brothers Daiman and Odion.
Daiman, blond and handsome, believes he created the universe; Odion, scarred and ugly, believes death is the only thing with meaning. Miller does such a nice job characterizing them that it doesn't matter how ridiculous these characters are on the surface. Both are entirely self-aware.
As Daiman tells Kerra in the first volume, "Aflame": "Self-glorification is central to Sith belief, Jedi. I practice its logical end – a Sith solipsism that understands my place in the cosmos – AS the cosmos. The thing you call reality might well be just a Force vision to test me. I'm not convinced that you exist."
It's too bad that we don't get a fuller backstory about how Daiman came upon the string of logic that led to his worldview, but we do get that for Odion, who began to get headaches when his brother was born:
As Odion explains in "Escape," the third volume: "As my Force talents grew, I became hypersensitive to the mere existence of others. It was debilitating. No one could help. Hiding didn't work. In the end, there was only one solution – a Sith solution. I learned I could strike out against the pain – by snuffing out the bright lights in my mind, one by one. Every death provided relief."
For her part, Kerra has the classic Force-user origin story of being orphaned (or so it seems; the mystery of her parents' fate will play into "Escape") but taken in by the Jedi. Her arc isn't about developing a desire to fight for what's right – that's baked into her; it's more about accepting that other people are held back by their attachments.
As she attempts to rescue refugees from Aquilaris who don't want to be rescued in "Deluge," the second volume, we see an example of Kerra's common complaint: "Blast it – why does it always have to be this hard? Why do I always have to do everything myself? Just once, I'd like to meet some people with some fight!"
Rather than trying to get others to reject attachment, an approach that some might say fits with Jedi philosophy, she herself embraces more attachments. She widens her view of "family" to include all innocent beings. In the final pages of "Escape," an ally flies off with a ship full of refugees, and she says with a smile: "That's my family you're carrying."
Fans who were thrilled to see a female protagonist on the big screen -- Rey in "The Force Awakens" – will see a lot of similarities in Kerra, someone whose heroism comes naturally but who could use a nudge in the right direction and who could stand to forgive others' flaws.
Miller is a master at creating complex war plots that make sense from the perspectives of the people carrying them out, but having everything come back to character insight. "Deluge" is my favorite of the three volumes, largely because of Jenn Devaad, who at first seems to be a Republic-linked relief worker who shares Kerra's philosophy. But she's so attached to her own squadron that she sacrifices the wider mission. Additionally, Zodoh the Hutt – a rare Hutt who enjoys doing the dirty work himself – makes for a great rival to Jenn and Kerra.
Dark humor is probably inevitable in stories set in Sith space – for example, Odion creatively dispatches Zodoh by using a moisture vaporator to freeze-dry the Hutt – but Miller also sometimes slows down the action for some snort-worthy non sequiturs.
For example, in "Aflame," when Odion acquires a Magneto-esque ancient Sith helmet that will supposedly amplify his power, he says: "But the one thing history didn't warn me about – is how small Ieldis's head was! I feel like I'm stuck in a trash compactor!"
"Knight Errant" ended after 15 issues as Miller turned his focus to his third saga, "The Lost Tribe of the Sith." Thanks to Disney's cancellation of the EU, we'll never know if Dark Horse would've returned to Kerra's adventures. But interestingly, "Knight Errant" would've been almost impossible to end with a happy victory for the good guys. In the "Darth Bane" books set a few decades after "Knight Errant," the Sith still dominate this region of the galaxy; Bane moves to end the infighting and consolidate their power with the Rule of Two.
It's possible that Miller never intended to give this saga a traditional ending. Each volume of "Knight Errant" closes with the phrase "And the fight goes on ..." Similar to Fox Mulder in "The X-Files," Kerra faces such long odds and has so few allies that she can't win, but she can score small victories, and that's more than enough to live for.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksWed, 31 Aug 2016 00:13:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/8/31/Star-Wars-flashback-Knight-Errant-comics-201012‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Ewoks: Shadows of Endor’ (2013)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/8/30/Star-Wars-flashback-Ewoks-Shadows-of-Endor-2013
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Ewoks are notoriously controversial among "Star Wars" fandom. The reason, as a famous episode of "How I Met Your Mother" outlined, is simple: They were (successfully) aimed at kids. The marketing was so effective that you can predict a person's age (or at least whether they were younger or older than 10 on May 25, 1983) by whether they like or hate Ewoks. (I fit the stereotype: I was 4 at the time, and I never had a problem with the existence of Ewoks. I still own a plush Wiley the Ewok doll.)
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But as successful as that "Return of the Jedi" campaign was (leading to action figures, Endor-related playsets, TV movies, cartoons and comics), licensees haven't known what to do with Ewoks since then. When Hasbro relaunched the toy line in 1995, Ewoks and Endor-related toys were harder to come by than in the Kenner days. While Hasbro eventually produced a fair number Ewok action figures, many Kenner playsets and vehicles were not reproduced, from the popular Ewok Village to the cartoon's Ewok Battle Wagon.
In terms of fiction, the Ewoks were prominent background characters in the latter Marvel issues – when the Alliance sets up its provisional government on Endor – and they starred in the 14-issue "Ewoks" comic, two animated TV seasons on Saturday mornings and two live-action TV movies. Bantam and Del Rey basically ignored Ewoks in their novels, with the notable exception of Troy Denning's smuggler Tarfang (who seems like he got an intelligence upgrade from Imperial scientists similar to the Gamorrean Piggy, but that's not the case). Meanwhile, from 1991-2014, Dark Horse delved into every corner of the "Star Wars" timeline; it even resurrected the "Droids" comic series. But it didn't bother with "Ewoks."
While the "Star Wars" franchise certainly didn't abandon kids after the 1980s, it no longer used Ewoks as a hook, instead going with Jar Jar, Ahsoka, Chopper and junior-reader books about young Obi-Wan, Anakin Skywalker, Jacen, Jaina and Anakin Solo.
With one exception, just before Dark Horse's license ended.
And what a wonderful exception it is: Writer/artist Zack Giallongo's <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Ewoks%E2%80%94Shadows_of_Endor" target="_blank">"Ewoks: Shadows of Endor"</a> (2013) is a love letter to those old "Ewoks" stories – and, indeed, it's the only story about the major Ewoks characters (Wicket and his friends, plus elders like Chirpa and Logray) since the 1980s. This digest-sized comic is a masterwork of continuity, as it fits into the notoriously convoluted timeline of "Ewoks" stories while reconciling the extremely diverse stylistic portrayals of our beloved (if you were younger than 10 in May 1983) woodland fauna.
Giallongo's approach to the "Ewoks" franchise is similar to what IDW has done with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," blending aspects of various previous incarnations into a new one. First of all, the look of the Ewoks is a compromise between the cartoons and the movies, but it leans toward the movies. Teebo mostly has his movie look, whereas we recognize Latara (not seen in the movies) from the cartoon. But she's roughed up just a bit so we can imagine this is what she would've looked like in movie form, more or less.
The personalities broadly line up with Season 1 of "Ewoks," which leads into "Shadows of Endor" (the TV movies then take place after this comic). Giallongo doesn't try to reconcile Season 2 – where everyone's personalities changed -- and I don't blame him. I'm happy to see Latara and Teebo as a happy couple in "Shadows of Endor" – nearly two decades after the cartoon, it seemed unlikely we'd ever see such a story, both because Latara turned into a self-centered b**** and Teebo became a bumbling moron in Season 2 and because there was such resistance to new "Ewoks" stories.
But although we get staple cartoon lines like "Ee chee wa wa" and "Dangar!," this is not the cartoon. It doesn't even hew toward the style of "Battle for the Sunstar," the admittedly interesting second-season episode where the Ewoks sneak aboard a Star Destroyer. That episode was somewhat a mix of "Ewoks" and "Droids" styles, whereas "Shadows of Endor" leans toward the serious stakes of the films.
Indeed, the Empire is setting up its shield generator and surrounding buildings and landing platforms – and enslaving and/or killing Duloks in the process -- in this comic, set eight months before "Return of the Jedi." (Although "The Essential Guide to Warfare" and Brian Wood's "Star Wars" comics tell us that Death Star II began being built around the same time as its predecessor's destruction, it's feasible that the Empire's related construction on the surface of Endor began later. Or, at least, that they didn't encounter Duloks or Ewoks until later.)
(In my head, I still tend to think that all the "Ewoks" stories take place before the Imperials land on Endor. "Shadows of Endor" tells us they were there throughout the TV movies. But it's a big moon -- and one of the most diverse worlds in all of "Star Wars" -- so it's conceivable that the Imperials were setting up shop on one side while the Marauders were wreaking havoc on the other side. Also, it makes sense that the Imperials and the natives would keep their distance from each other in a tentative truce after their scuffle in this story.)
Emphasizing the comic's mature tone, the Dulok who leads the Ewoks to the site of the Imperial base is not a comic-relief coward. He's manipulative and has a deep cultural dislike of Ewoks. His "fire stick" (an Imperial laser rifle) is not a comical weapon, and his half-arm ends in a bloody stump due to a recent injury. This ain't the child-friendly "Ewoks" from when we were kids and the Duloks wanted to steal the Ewoks' magic soap. Even the young Ewoks – fitting with "Return of the Jedi" -- are familiar with killing and death.
It's cool that Giallongo works in Charal from "Ewoks: The Battle for Endor." Even though her appearance consists mainly of refusing to help Logray and then trying to steal his Sunstar, we do get confirmation that she's a Witch of Dathomir. Thus, the "Star Wars" saga's two most famous non-Force magic sources – Dathomiri and Endorian – go head to head. He also peppers in a Wistie, a member of a light-giving race that was in the first TV movie and first cartoon episode but underused afterward. It's a little odd that Paploo, rather than Teebo, is Logray's apprentice, but I understand that Giallongo wanted to fit as many named Ewoks as possible into the story, and Teebo is off with Latara, Wicket and Kneesaa.
More so than previous stories, we get a nice sense of the Endor species' perspective from the brackets around the Imperials' – and in the epilogue, Leia's – dialog, showing us that the Ewoks and Duloks don't understand them. The humans are the mysterious aliens here. By contrast, the TV movies gave us humans like Cindel and Noa as point-of-view characters. And in the cartoon, the Ewoks functioned as human stand-ins, speaking Basic and having relatable (if more nature- and magic-oriented) cultural traits and conventions.
One continuity oddity is that in "Return of the Jedi" – particularly the novelization – the Rebels have to work hard to convince the Ewoks to team up with them against the Empire. From this comic, as well as "Battle for the Sunstar," we now know the Ewoks were already in conflict with the Imperials (or the "skull ones," as they say, based on stormtroopers' helmets). The initial misunderstanding between the Ewoks and Luke's group might've made more continuity sense if the Ewoks in "Jedi" mistook the Rebels for Imperials.
Then again, the Ewoks seem to take threats as they come and avoid them if possible. So while they weren't thrilled about the Imperial presence, they also didn't know the whole story of the Empire until the Rebels arrived. Until then, I suppose they were content to let the skull ones have their little patch of the forest moon.
Although I wish "Shadows of the Endor" would've been the start of a series rather than a one-off, I'm glad "Ewoks" got this one last, lovely appearance in the EU continuity.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 30 Aug 2016 00:01:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/8/30/Star-Wars-flashback-Ewoks-Shadows-of-Endor-2013‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Jedi: The Dark Side’ (2011)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/8/29/Star-Wars-flashback-Jedi-The-Dark-Side-2011
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Part of Disney's argument for why the "Star Wars" timeline had to be rebooted was that a new movie on the original timeline couldn't be understood by a newcomer who didn't know the wider story. This is easily disproven by the whole history of "Star Wars" stories, which had been told non-linearly since the beginning, when our first glimpse of the saga was the "fourth" episode.
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And there are many more examples of stories told out of order (ironically, Disney's "Episode VII" is one of them, as viewers aren't privy to many story points since the previous movie) – and therefore inevitably experienced out of order by fans.
Take, for instance, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Jedi%E2%80%94The_Dark_Side" target="_blank">"Jedi: The Dark Side"</a> (2011). This five-issue comic series tells the backstory of dark-sider Xanatos, who was introduced as a nemesis to Qui-Gon and young Obi-Wan in the "Jedi Apprentice" junior-readers series, which began even before "Episode I" hit theaters in 1999. In the second book of that series, which is set just before "The Phantom Menace," Qui-Gon touches on how his former Padawan Xanatos fell to the dark side. As part of the brief multimedia push around the time of "Episode I's" 3D release in early 2012, Dark Horse gave us this story.
While it has added depth for those who read the "Jedi Apprentice" series, it works fine on its own, too -- as I can attest, having not read "Jedi Apprentice." (By the way, this really should be called "Jedi Apprentice: The Dark Side," especially since there is another series set during the Clone Wars called "Jedi.")
Dark Horse editor and writer Scott Allie is always solid, but this might be his most confident "Star Wars" work. Unlike Ryder Windham's "Jedi Quest," an adaptation of an Obi-Wan/Anakin junior-reader tale that carried over the young reader feel, "Jedi: The Dark Side" is an adult story. Assisted by solid art from Mahmud Asrar, who nicely imparts characters' feelings through facial expressions, this series has a familiar, layered plot of political corruption on a planet – in this case, Talos, which has a history in the "Knights of the Old Republic" video game (and to a lesser extent, the comic series).
But it mainly works as a character piece: Qui-Gon; Xanatos (a male human); Master Tahl (a Noorian female); and Padawan Orykan (a Twi'lek female), whose master had recently died, are the four protagonists. Xanatos is somewhat of a whiny brat, but I didn't find him unappealing because I was focused on Qui-Gon. In a way, Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side is a tragic tale of hubris where Yoda, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu and the whole Jedi Order deserve some blame. That goes back further to Qui-Gon, as we see here: He is never able to give his Padawan the direction he needs. He believes he can train Xanatos properly, but he's wrong, just as Obi-Wan would later fail with Anakin.
(Of course, this theory side-steps the fact that Qui-Gon did just fine training Obi-Wan. But it seems Qui-Gon got lucky with Obi-Wan being a model student -- or so I assume; more on young Obi-Wan can be found in "Jedi Apprentice" -- but with Xanatos he was not so lucky. Certainly, although Qui-Gon is a lovable character, he's also a bit arrogant and assuming. If he passed on some of those traits to Obi-Wan, who then failed with Anakin – who absorbed some of those traits in a more negative way – then the whole tragic story can be traced back to Qui-Gon's failure to learn from "Jedi: The Dark Side.")
Interestingly, while the Jedi Order wisely believes it's important that children become charges of the Jedi Temple pretty much from birth, that policy doesn't stop all Padawans from becoming emotionally unstable around their teenage years. Indeed, Xanatos is angry because his father gave him up to the Jedi Order. Qui-Gon asks Xanatos to try to forgive his father, but when it turns out the father is the manipulator of the upheaval on Talos, the success of Qui-Gon's guidance backfires: The youth is now allied with the bad guys.
Adding depth to the yarn, we get a sense of flirtatiousness between Tahl and Qui-Gon and the notion that they might be lovers if the Order didn't discourage it. And Orykan is a refreshingly green (not just in skin tone) young Padawan. I like how everything about the mission is world-shaking for her, and how Qui-Gon and Tahl treat her with kid-gloves. After all, this story is set well before the Clone Wars, when Padawans had to be rushed into peacemaker duty. While Tahl's arc finds completeness in "Jedi Apprentice," Orykan is unfortunately never seen again.
Orykan fading into the mists of EU lore might mean she's one of the many continuity victims of the EU's cancellation by Disney, but to be fair, the Clone Wars timeline was already pretty jam-packed by 2011, so it would've been hard to find room for her – so yes, there are sometimes consequences to telling stories out of order.
But I get the feeling that there was at least a notion that the "Jedi" series might continue, since it ends with Qui-Gon refusing Yoda's order to return to the Temple, as he needs time to himself to reflect on his failure as a teacher. I think we needed one more adult-comic story in the gap between "Jedi: The Dark Side" and "Jedi Apprentice" – or perhaps an adult-leaning "Jedi Apprentice" adaptation -- to show how Qui-Gon never did totally grasp his missteps.
Nonetheless, it's still nice to get the pivotal glimpse into Qui-Gon's past provided by "Jedi: The Dark Side."
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 29 Aug 2016 00:00:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/8/29/Star-Wars-flashback-Jedi-The-Dark-Side-2011‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Star Wars Adventures’ comic digests (2009-11)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/8/28/Star-Wars-flashback-Star-Wars-Adventures-comic-digests-200911
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Dark Horse's <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Adventures_(comics)" target="_blank">"Star Wars Adventures,"</a> a series of six comic digests from 2009-11, seems like a good way to experience character-focused stories set during the time of the original trilogy. However, these comics are aggressively aimed at kids, so there's not a lot of depth for adult readers.
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By far the most interesting of the six is "Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes." Like the "Episode I Adventures" series and Marvel's "Droids" Issues 6-8, it tells a story set during a "Star Wars" movie, in this case "The Empire Strikes Back." Logistically, this is the only way to tell a new Luke-and-Yoda story, and it also makes more logistical sense than those other "story within a movie" tales. A lot of time had to pass as the Millennium Falcon traveled between star systems at sublight speed, so there's certainly time for a more extended training lesson on Dagobah.
Tom Taylor writes spot-on Yoda dialog, but the real pleasure is the art by Daxiong, who draws a perfect Yoda with a variety of facial expressions. The duo also explores Dagobah flora and fauna further, include the spider-trees given life in the 1995 "Illustrated Star Wars Universe."
Second place goes to Jeremy Barlow's "Princess Leia and the Royal Ransom." Set between "A New Hope" and "Empire," it features exchanges in the spirit of Han and Leia's Echo Base hallway conversation. It caps with a funny punchline where Han is rewarded for his heroism with the offer to marry a princess, and – to Leia's amusement -- he runs scared.
Third place goes to "Boba Fett and the Ship of Fear," written by Barlow with more gorgeous art by Daxiong. It's in the spirit of other "Boba Fett" comics – with the bounty hunter doing his thing -- but it's G-rated rather than PG-13.
In fourth place is Taylor's "The Will of Darth Vader," which is a good lesson in "making decisions versus following orders" for young readers. It finds Vader interacting with a talkative captive who taunts Vader for just doing what the Emperor tells him. In the end, Vader allows the man to go free, rather than killing him as the Emperor would demand, thus asserting a tiny bit of free will and giving a hint of what he'll do at the end of "Return of the Jedi."
Barlow's "Han Solo and the Hollow Moon of Khorya," set before "A New Hope," gets fifth place by default. It's the first entry in the "Adventures" omnibus, and the evocative title had me hoping for something in the vein of Brian Daley's novels, if a bit lighter. No such luck; it's a broad tale about how Han and Chewie are getting on each other's nerves.
Billal, an acquaintance from Han's younger days working for Shrike (although Billal is not mentioned in "The Paradise Snare"), gets on Han's nerves, thus inspiring him to bury the hatchet with Chewie. Han then drops Billal off on Arbra, the future Rebel base in the Marvel comics, and Billal is somehow familiar with Hoojibs. So while the ending attempts to be a cool continuity nod, it actually doesn't make sense.
The worst "Adventures" entry is Chris Cerasi's "Chewbacca and the Slavers of the Shadowlands." It's an interminable flashback tale of a young Chewie and his friends taking on slavers in the jungles of Kashyyyk. Some might enjoy the watercolor art by Jennifer L. Meyer, but I had to look at it closely to tell which Wookiee was which, and that's not much fun when the story is this flat.
"Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes" truly is an artistic treasure, so you might want to pick up the individual digest rather than the full omnibus, as the appeal of the other five tales is limited to young readers.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSun, 28 Aug 2016 15:28:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/8/28/Star-Wars-flashback-Star-Wars-Adventures-comic-digests-200911‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Blood Ties’ (2010-12)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/8/21/Star-Wars-flashback-Blood-Ties-201012
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George Lucas' revelation in 2002's "Attack of the Clones" that Boba Fett was the clone son of Jango Fett opened up a new vein of Fett stories. While subsequent stories would retain some of the pre-2002 "mysterious loner" aspect, the revelation about his background encouraged writers to explore the bounty hunter's rare personal bonds as well.
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The trend actually started before "Attack of the Clones," with Beau Smith's 2001 comic short story "Outbid But Never Outgunned" in "Tales" Issue 7. Smith revealed that a teenage Boba Fett had a love interest, fellow bounty hunter Sintas Vel. Although the "Tales" stories were not necessarily canonical within the EU, this one became canon when Karen Traviss revealed in her "Legacy of the Force" books (2006-08) that Sintas and Boba were briefly married and that the kid in the hologram at the end of "Outbid" was their daughter, Ailyn.
Traviss' "LOTF" books further revealed that Ailyn had a daughter, Mirta Gev. Then Ailyn is killed by Darth Caedus, and Sintas is found to have been frozen in carbonite; she is then thawed out and reunites with Fett and Mirta. Whew. Although Mirta becomes a well-developed character in "LOTF" – particularly after she drops her desire to kill her grandfather and instead gets to know him -- Sintas and Ailyn were defined by their relationship to Fett. We know them by what they mean to Fett: He regrets abandoning Sintas and never knowing his daughter.
Also in Traviss' books, Fett spends a fair amount of time thinking about his late father, Jango. We did see some Jango-Boba family moments in "Episode II," and we got Jango's backstory in "Jango Fett: Open Seasons." But although we know from his inner monologues how much these people mean to Boba Fett, we had seen very little of Boba's backstory co-starring Jango, Sintas and Ailyn.
Two four-issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Blood_Ties" target="_blank">"Blood Ties"</a> comic series from Dark Horse -- "Jango and Boba Fett" (2010) and "Boba Fett is Dead" (2012) – changed that. The former starts with Jango training Boba using tough love, throwing his son into a live-or-die situation with a vicious monster; the idea is that if he survives, he'll never have to face something that scary again. Then the action moves forward to Boba's bounty-hunting prime – a time when he knows Sintas.
Even these stories keep their emotional distance. There's plenty of Boba Fett action in them, so it's not exactly false advertising, but the main character of "Blood Ties" is actually Connor Freeman, the son of a clone trooper defector -- so Freeman and Boba Fett are essentially cousins. (As the son of a clone defector, Connor shares a similar backstory to Venku from Traviss' "Republic Commando" and "LOTF" books. But although Connor has a knack with a blaster and for being able to fall asleep on a barstool, he doesn't have Force abilities.)
Boba Fett develops a bond with Freeman after he finds out that Jango had set up an inheritance for the boy; Jango felt remorse for killing Connor's dad as part of an assassination assignment from Count Dooku. In both "Blood Ties" comics, Boba and Connor end up on the same side. Despite this, writer Tom Taylor (accompanied by painted panels from Chris Scalf) is careful not to give us a kinder, gentler Boba Fett. These yarns are still very much in the style of the <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/7/21/Star-Wars-flashback-Boba-Fett-Enemy-of-the-Empire-and-other-Boba-Fett-comics-19952006" target="_blank">previous "Boba Fett" comics,</a> many of which were penned by John Wagner.
For example, at the end of "Jango and Boba Fett," Boba presents Connor to a crime lord to collect his bounty. But he then accepts Connor's bounty of three credits on the crime lord, and kills the crime lord. He also doesn't let Connor skate on those three credits: "Boba Fett always collects," he tells him, thus reminding the reader of the strict business code – and the associated pitch-black humor -- established in previous comics such as Ron Marz's "Wreckage" ("Empire" Issue 28). "Jango and Boba Fett" shows that Boba learned this way of doing business from his father. Rather than entering into landing-fee negotiations on Atzerri, Jango simply blows the sentry ship out of the sky with a pair of missiles from the Slave I.
And in "Boba Fett is Dead," Fett unleashes an angry dewback on a stormtrooper who had been abusing the creature. Fett doesn't technically kill the stormtrooper, he just lets nature take its course (he dispatches a sniveling collectibles dealer in similar fashion in "Outbid"). Later, Fett hires away a henchwoman of a man he is targeting: "You work for me. You will be paid. But cross me – or try to run – and I will find you." The fact that we see Fett's face (the likeness of Daniel Logan) makes these comics different from the pre-"Episode II" comics, but Fett's behavior is the same as ever.
"Boba Fett is Dead" takes place after "Outbid But Never Outgunned," so for continuity reasons Fett can't actually meet up with Sintas, but Taylor uses Connor as a bridge. Connor teams up with Sintas – and the resourceful little Ailyn, who has already been trained by her mom in the survival arts – as Sintas is being pursued by the father of a man who was killed by her husband. As we found out in "LOTF," Fett killed the man because he had raped Sintas, but he never presented this as a motive, and was thus convicted of murder, necessitating Fett to flee Concord Dawn.
From a distance, Fett helps protect Sintas again, but this is the last time he'll see her for a half century. As a bonus, we now know that one of the post-Boba relationships Sintas mentions in "LOTF: Revelation" is Connor – and we know that Boba also knew this even before he asked.
While there are still a lot of incidents alluded to in "LOTF" that go untold – for example, how did Sintas come to be carbon-frozen about a decade after the events of these comics? – the fact that we get a comic story featuring Sintas significantly helps Traviss' Fett backstory come alive.
The title "Boba Fett is Dead" is evocative of a lot of Fett stories throughout the timeline – most famously, he was thought by some to have been eaten by the Sarlacc; "Dark Empire" first informed readers this was not the case. (In an example of how silly Disney's reboot of the "Star Wars" canon is, the mystery of Fett's fate after the Sarlacc is now being repeated. As of now, for people who care, <a href="http://www.bobafettfanclub.com/news/fettpedia/schrodingers-fett-the-life-death-paradox-of-boba-fett/" target="_blank">Fett is neither dead nor alive</a> in the Disney canon.)
It's not much of a spoiler to reveal that the supposed dead Boba Fett on the cover of "Boba Fett is Dead" Issue 1 is not actually Fett. It's just some poor bounty (who doesn't even get a name) whom Fett put in his armor in order to take a barrage of bullets for him while Fett escaped. In a lucky break, the enemies shoot the man in the face, so he can't be identified as not being Boba Fett.
People being mistaken for Fett is another common trope in the EU. In "The Search Begins" (Marvel Issue 68), Leia believes she has encountered Fett, but it's actually Fenn Shysa. This was readers' (and Leia's) first hint that characters other than Fett wore Mandalorian armor. In "Twin Engines of Destruction," a comic in "Star Wars Galaxy Magazine," Fett tracks down and kills Jodo Kast, who had been passing himself off as the legendary bounty hunter. Fett seemingly appears in the "Young Jedi Knights" books, but this was later retconned to be his daughter, Ailyn. Finally, a Mandalorian named Spar is mistaken by Ailyn as being Boba Fett, and she kills him, as recounted in the "LOTF" books. And I've probably forgotten a few other examples.
While Boba Fett is a rich character who invites essays about his loner lifestyle and strict moral codes, the handful of characters who play a role throughout his life span (Jango, Sintas, Ailyn, Mirta and now Connor) haven't been explored as much. The "Blood Ties" comics take a step toward changing that, and that makes them worth a read, in addition to the fact that they work as traditional dark-humor-laden Boba Fett bounty hunting yarns.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSun, 21 Aug 2016 16:36:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/8/21/Star-Wars-flashback-Blood-Ties-201012This week, we celebrate our ‘Independence Day’: ‘Dark Fathom’ (2016)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/7/8/This-week-we-celebrate-our-Independence-Day-Dark-Fathom-2016
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//independence-day-dark-fathom.jpg">
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Independence Day" and the release of the sequel, "Resurgence," this week I'm looking back at the various spinoff comics and novels. All of these spin-off materials were recently released (or re-released, in the case of the old stuff) by Titan Books. Also, check out my reviews of <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/5/18/20-years-later-Independence-Day-still-worth-celebrating" target="_blank">"Independence Day"</a> and <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/6/25/Independence-Day-Resurgence-advances-the-saga-while-essentially-remaking-the-original" target="_blank">"Independence Day: Resurgence."</a>
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One problem with movies about massive global threats is that they are hard to tie up in a tidy bow. "Independence Day" achieved this about as well as it could, giving us a Hollywood happy ending with the surviving heroes hugging and smoking cigars as word was broadcast around the globe about how to destroy the aliens' city destroyers.
The idea that those other 35 city destroyers had to be taken out left the door open for the novel "War in the Desert" and writer Victor Gischler's 2016 five-issue comic series <a href="http://independenceday.wikia.com/wiki/Independence_Day:_Dark_Fathom" target="_blank">"Dark Fathom,"</a> which was recently released as a trade paperback.
Set on July 5, 1996, the comic shows us the eebies' first attempt to drill to the Earth's core, when one of their ships crash-dives to the bottom of the South Pacific and sets up its drill on a fault line. As we know from "Resurgence," the eebies need to draw energy from the core; additionally, the very fact that they are drilling on a fault line will lead to massive earthquakes and tsunamis and tens of millions of deaths. This is one of those stories where an unheralded group saves the planet in the shadow of a heralded group doing the same thing, sort of like what Xander does in the "Buffy" episode "The Zeppo."
"Dark Fathom" also serves as a backstory for Army Captain Joshua Adams. This character doesn't appear in the first movie; we first see him on film played by William Fichtner in "Resurgence." It seems Adams might have been a replacement for Adam Baldwin's Major Mitchell, who isn't in the sequel. At any rate, Gischler ("Angel & Faith" Season 10) – almost certainly coordinating with Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich – shows Adams as a hero in "Dark Fathom," and a bio at the back of the TPB also reveals that he coordinated the global assault on the previous day (although the "War in the Desert" heroes never heard from him).
In order to not make him too super-heroic, Gischler gives Adams a fear of water (he's on this submarine mission only because he was the closest-available expert) and has him freeze in panic at one point, causing him to lose the trust of the marines under his command.
Dr. Jessica Morgan, who is somehow already armed with knowledge of the eebies from David Levinson, is the prototypical scientist who is eager to get a specimen. Although it seems she should be, Morgan isn't in either of the films. I suppose it's good that the spin-off materials aren't too focused on film characters, though, as that would detract from the epic scope.
"Dark Fathom" gives us the first significant visual look at humans' laser-gun combat with the eebies as it plays out an "ID4" tale in an underwater environment that contrasts nicely with previous yarns. It somewhat calls to mind "Alien Resurrection" with the way the marines battle aliens on a spaceship filling up with water, although this ship is much bigger – and the team of 17 (!) artists does a vibrant job of showing that scope. They also draw a decent likeness of Fichtner, which allowed me to realize that I was seeing a character from "Resurgence." And for tech geeks, they introduce underwater versions of the stingrays (the jet fighter analogs) and give us a good look at the core driller.
"Dark Fathom" is unavoidably a self-contained chapter – we know that the aliens will not succeed in their goal, nor will humanity latch on to crucial knowledge -- otherwise these events would've been mentioned in "Resurgence." But it fleshes out the character of future President of the United States Adams -- who seems like he'll be even more of a major player in a potential third movie – and does push the bounds of plausibility somewhat by showing that Adams has a mental connection to the aliens, something that isn't mentioned in "Resurgence." Interestingly, Fichtner's trademark haunted look fits well with this backstory.
And "Dark Fathom" gives us the first significant comic book action in the "ID4" franchise (the first film's adaptation and an inconsequential Issue 0 came from Marvel in the 1990s). Hopefully, the third movie will play out on the big screen, but if it can't for commercial reasons, a comic book from this team of artists might not be a bad backup plan.
Independence DayComic booksFri, 08 Jul 2016 00:00:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/7/8/This-week-we-celebrate-our-Independence-Day-Dark-Fathom-2016This week, we celebrate our ‘Independence Day’: ‘ID4’ prequel comic (1996)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/7/4/This-week-we-celebrate-our-Independence-Day-ID4-prequel-comic-1996
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//independence-day-issue-0.jpg">
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Independence Day" and the release of the sequel, "Resurgence," this week I'll be looking back at the various spinoff comics and novels. All of these spin-off materials were recently released (or re-released, in the case of the old stuff) by Titan Books. Also, check out my reviews of <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/5/18/20-years-later-Independence-Day-still-worth-celebrating" target="_blank">"Independence Day"</a> and <a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/6/25/Independence-Day-Resurgence-advances-the-saga-while-essentially-remaking-the-original" target="_blank">"Independence Day: Resurgence."</a>
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Let's start at the beginning, or rather, before the beginning: the prequel. In conjunction with the 1996 movie, Marvel put out a two-issue comic adaptation and preceded it with <a href="http://independenceday.wikia.com/wiki/ID4:_Independence_Day_Number_0" target="_blank">Issue No. 0,</a> written by Phil Crain.
Issue 0 is obviously a commercial project, in the sense that idea of having a prequel comic likely preceded the idea for what would be in the comic. Crain gives us the Roswell crash story and briefly sketched-out backstories for the film's major players, but none of it is essential.
"ID4's" Roswell UFO incident of 1947 hews closely to real-world lore. The alleged crash – "due to a navigational mishap" – occurs on July 4, 1947, in the "ID4" timeline, whereas some reports say in happened on June 14 (although the Brazel family, who spotted the debris, gathered it up on July 4 in many reports). Of course, it's understandable that the "ID4" lore would embrace the July 4 date. Crain takes us through the real-life plot points quickly, from the "light and strong" metal debris to the military's "weather balloon" cover story. Then it smoothly skews into the "ID4" narrative about the transfer of the ship and the aliens to a newly built secret facility (Area 51 in Nevada).
Disturbingly, a soldier sternly tells Mr. Brazel: "Someone from the U.S. Army would like to speak with you," and Brazel is never seen again. This isn't quite as sinister as it sounds, as in the real-world narrative, Brazel was not killed, he was coerced into changing his story. But in the comic, it plays ominously.
Back to the "ID4" narrative: An Army scientist named Dr. Rose volunteers to study the craft and the three aliens. One of them is injured but still alive, and it melds with Rose's brain just before it dies. Then for 20 years, we see our tax dollars at work: Rose learns almost nothing from the corpses and the ship before handing off the project to Dr. Okun in 1967, who proceeds to learn next to nothing over the next two decades.
Then it's on to the character chapters, which canonize points that were implied but not made explicit in the movie. We see Russell Casse's 1986 abduction and his subsequent spiral into alcoholism when everyone laughs at his story. We see Steven Hiller's younger brothers tell him there's "no such thing" as a black astronaut, although his mom is supportive of his dreams.
We see that Okun somewhat fears the three alien corpses, as he dreams about one of them coming to life and attacking him in the darkened lab. On my first viewing of the film, I kind of suspected one of the corpses would spring to life and burst out of its glass prison, so this scene tracks nicely.
We see David Levinson punch Thomas Whitmore – as referenced in the film -- because of his completely unfounded belief that his wife, Connie, is having an affair with the senator. Usually when someone punches a politician, I side with the puncher, but in this case Levinson is unquestionably the jackass of the piece. It's a reminder that Levinson isn't the greatest character on paper; it's Jeff Goldblum's charisma that makes him likable.
As "ID4" opens, Whitmore has low favorability ratings from the public for vague reasons, and Crain keeps the reasons vague. A TV commentator criticizes the president for being "too pragmatic" (!). The movie also shows us that Nimziki, the secretary of defense, is the one member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is a bit sleazy, but the backstory of why Whitmore selected him is bland: Whitmore just chooses Nimziki because he has lots of experience as the head of the CIA, despite Connie's objections. I guess it's a pragmatic decision.
In short, this prequel comic is fine – a team of four artists deliver good likenesses of the actors -- but it doesn't add any depth to the lore. I suspect the prequel novel, "Silent Zone," will do a better job in this regard.
One advantage to picking up Titan's trade paperback of Issues 0-2 is you get a nice "ID4" map/timeline in the back featuring events from 1947 through 2016. But it's also found in the "Dark Fathom" TPB, and you'll get a better story there.
Independence DayComic booksMon, 04 Jul 2016 00:00:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/7/4/This-week-we-celebrate-our-Independence-Day-ID4-prequel-comic-1996Checking in on ‘Gotham’s’ rogues gallery as Season 2 winds downhttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/5/11/Checking-in-on-Gothams-rogues-gallery-as-Season-2-winds-down
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//hugo-strange.jpg">
Part of the fun of watching "Batman: The Animated Series" after school in the '90s was waiting for the title card to come up, as it usually revealed the featured villain in the episode. Sometimes as an episode wrapped up and Batman delivered a bad guy to Arkham Asylum, we'd get glimpses of many members of the rogues gallery in their cells, and sometimes multiple villains would star in the same episode.
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As Season 2 of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3749900/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">"Gotham"</a> winds down with its final two episodes, it seems to be embracing the concept of rogues on the loose. Here's a look at my favorite villains of Season 2, and how they relate to – or diverge from – the original "Batman" comic-book lore:
1. Professor Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong) – The concept of Strange as a psychiatrist who experiments on Arkham Asylum inmates – and the idea of the criminals becoming more insane after his ministrations -- is consistent in the comics and on "Gotham." New for the TV show, though, is the fact that he brings back inmates from the dead at his Indian Hills facility beneath the asylum, as he has done so far with Firefly, Mr. Freeze and Theo Galavan. It looks like he'll soon resurrect Fish Mooney, and the Joker could be on his to-do list also. Strange is the glue that holds the rogues gallery together, and it looks like he'll be setting them loose in a whiz-bang conclusion to the season. Wong's performance is so deliciously campy that I think it's safe to say this role has surpassed Dr. Wu in "Jurassic Park" as his most famous.
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2. The Riddler (Cory Michael Smith) – The primary villain of Season 2, Ed Nygma is never actually called the Riddler on the show – although one guy calls him "Riddle Man" before Ed kills him. I like the decision to portray Ed's diverging personalities -- timid and confident -- as he talks to himself in the mirror. The immediate switch from horror over accidentally suffocating his beloved Miss Kringle to covering up the crime is a classic portrayal of sociopathy. It was fun to see him frame Jim Gordon, and even more fun to see Gordon and his allies take him down, although more crimes with riddle-based clues will be welcome. Ed's job at the GCPD was invented for "Gotham," but the idea of his villainy stemming from abuse is consistent – in the comics, he had bad parents; on the TV show, he is made fun of by colleagues.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//penguin.jpg">
3. The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) – Season 1's primary villain continues to entertain and be oddly sympathetic due to circumstances and Taylor's portrayal of desperation. The recent storyline about Oswald Cobblepot's newfound relatives treating him like garbage puts "Gotham's" Penguin in line with traditional lore, where he is an outcast of his well-to-do family. I love the fact that the corpse of the mother-in-law he murdered several episodes ago is still in his dining room, swarmed with flies. After all, she had it coming, although Oswald's tactic of going all "Hannibal" and feeding poisoned meat of her deceased children to her is particularly grisly.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//barbara-kean.jpg">
4. Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) – Barbara's status as James Gordon's most well-known love interest, and their rocky relationship, is broadly consistent in both the comic lore and on "Gotham." The TV show has emphasized Barbara's evil side – deliciously played by Richards -- even putting her in Arkham for a while. I thought she would revert to her good self after emerging from her coma, but instead she seems to be helping Jim in an attempt to get back on his good side; then again, she's staying with crime kingpins Tabitha Galavan and Butch. It's possible that Jim might meet her in the middle – becoming dark enough that he's open to renewing their relationship.
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5. Mr. Freeze (Nathan Darrow) – The origin story of Victor Fries using cryogenics to try to save his cancer-stricken wife, Nora, is consistent across the lore. The idea of Arkham having a refrigerated room where he can survive is part of the comic lore, although the concept of Strange resurrecting him is unique to "Gotham." For some presumably comedic reason, his last name is pronounced "Frise" on "Gotham." The Gotham newspaper dubs him "Mr. Freeze," though. Frankly, it's nice to see someone other than Arnold Schwarzenegger play Mr. Freeze in a live-action role; that performance in "Batman and Robin" was entertaining in a campy way, but Darrow's straightforwardly tragic turn is more on-point.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//joker.jpg">
6. The Joker (Cameron Monaghan) – "Gotham's" proto-Joker, Jerome Valeska, might not actually be the Joker. After he's killed off, several citizens are seen laughing maniacally in the streets, suggesting that Jerome inspires people to behave in his maniacally sociopathic manner, and that the real Joker will emerge from this new cohort. Then again, Jerome's corpse ends up at Indian Hills, so it's possible he'll be resurrected by Strange. If Jerome does turn out to be the Joker, then "Gotham's" origin story is not consistent with the comics, but then again, the comics never delivered an unambiguous Joker origin. (Many fans theorize that "The Killing Joke" is a fake origin story, as it is told by the Joker himself, an unreliable narrator.) Even if he ends up coming back, killing the Joker was a daring twist by the writers, and Monaghan's spot-on performance stands as particularly gutsy considering that it is sandwiched between the late great Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" and the buzzed-about Jared Leto in "Suicide Squad."
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//azrael.jpg">
7. Azrael (James Frain) – Azrael's human identity, Theo Galavan, and the fact that Strange is responsible for his return from the dead are different from the comic lore. But the idea that a family has a connection to the ancient powers of the Sacred Order of St. Dumas and that one of their number can become Azrael does indeed come from the comics. In the most recent episode, Penguin's former henchman, Butch, blows up Azrael with a rocket launcher much like Buffy does to The Judge. So while death tends to not be permanent on "Gotham," in this case it might be. However, as the comics have had multiple Azraels, the TV show could too.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//tigress.jpg">
8. Tigress (Jessica Lucas) – The comic lore holds that Tigress runs with a gang of thieves, and this is consistent with "Gotham," where she leads a gang along with her brother, Theo Galavan. Her identity as Tabitha Galavan, and her relationship to the Sacred Order of St. Dumas, is unique to the TV show. Interestingly, Tabitha hasn't been called Tigress on the show, but numerous articles have cited that she is officially known as Tigress. At the moment, she's in the hospital, having been stabbed by her brother, so maybe she'll go full-blown Tigress when she recovers.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//silver-st-cloud.jpg">
9. Silver St. Cloud (Natalie Alyn Lind) – Similar to "Gotham's" youth-oriented reinterpretation of the Batman-Catwoman relationship, Bruce and Silver know each other as teenagers on the show, whereas they have a romance as adults in the comic lore. The fact that Silver is a socialite is consistent, although the fact that she's part of the Order of St. Dumas, like her relatives the Galavans, is unique to "Gotham." Last we saw her, she escaped the authorities with Tabitha; however, unlike the Galavan siblings, Silver has not re-emerged yet.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//firefly1.jpg">
10. Firefly (Michelle Veintimilla) – The idea of an arsonist in a firefly-looking suit with a flamethrower is consistent across the lore. However, the comic Firefly is a man named Garfield Lynns and "Gotham's" Firefly is a young woman named Bridgit Pike. She also has a more tragic backstory, as her abusive brothers push her into participating in their fire-starting crime family. In the TV show, she is a friend of Selina's, and she is resurrected by Hugo Strange.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//fish-mooney.jpg">
11. Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) – No research at the Batman Wiki is needed for this character, because she's the only "Gotham" rogue who is invented from whole cloth for the show. In Season 1, she is the crime boss that the Penguin aspires to be like, and it was fun to watch Smith chew scenery. It looks like Hugo Strange will resurrect her next week, which I think is unnecessary. At the end of Season 1, Fish is shot and flung off a building into the water. The idea that she could recover from that is well within reason for comics-based television, without mad science coming into play. (Indeed, she recovered off-screen from a gunshot wound just a few episodes before her presumed death.)
And what about ...
Catwoman (Camren Bicondova) – Known mostly by Selina at the moment, she's never been 100 percent villainous. Despite questionable moves such as pushing a guy out a window and betraying Jim Gordon, she's mostly good, so I can't legitimately put her in the rogues gallery at this point. It was fun to see Bruce learn some street smarts from her.
Poison Ivy (Clare Foley) – Selina's friend, known as Ivy Pepper, is still on the "Gotham" roster, but she's been relegated to the bench in Season 2.
Two-Face (Nicholas D'Agosto) – Harvey Dent has been established as Gotham City's district attorney, but he's very much a supporting character, at least for now.
The Scarecrow (Charlie Tahan) – He hasn't appeared since his origin story (or the first part of it, where his father injects him with a chemical that makes him scared of everything) was told in Season 1.
And who's next ...
The Mad Hatter – Strange notes that Azrael is "mad as a hatter." This made some fans think that "Gotham's" writers were letting us know that they have the Mad Hatter – a popular baddie on "The Animated Series" -- in mind as a featured villain down the road.
TelevisionBatmanComic booksWed, 11 May 2016 01:00:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/5/11/Checking-in-on-Gothams-rogues-gallery-as-Season-2-winds-down‘X-Files: Deviations’ one-shot a pointless take on a gimmicky concepthttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/5/2/XFiles-Deviations-oneshot-a-pointless-take-on-a-gimmicky-concept
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//x-files-deviations.jpg">
IDW's Seasons 10 and 11, despite initially being canonical, ended up being an interesting "what if" story when Chris Carter changed his mind and wrote a new story for TV. The one-shot comic <a href="http://www.idwpublishing.com/product/x-files-deviations-one-shot/" target="_blank">"X-Files: Deviations"</a> (March) is an alternate-universe story right from the get-go. In the spirit of Marvel's "What If?" and Dark Horse's "Star Wars Infinities" titles, the "Deviations" series tells "what if" stories in the worlds of "X-Files," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Ghostbusters," "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe."
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Any time a comic company launches a gimmicky concept, be wary (see also 2014's "X-Files: Conspiracy"). That advice rings prescient with "X-Files: Deviations," subtitled "Time and Being." The premise is that instead of Samantha Mulder getting abducted by aliens, Fox Mulder gets abducted. OK, fair enough. But rather than seeing over the course of 24 pages the drastic ways the world changes, writer Amy Chu – seemingly not engaged with this premise at all – imagines that Samantha takes the exact same path to becoming an X-Files agent.
The final-panel twist, such as it is, is that Fox Mulder is in league with the Cigarette-Smoking Man, who seemed to have raised Fox as a son. He indulges Fox by letting him visit the now-abandoned house he grew up in, but chastises him for nearly being spotted by Sam and Scully, who are also at the house as part of Sam's obsession with her brother's disappearance. Since Fox isn't revealed until the final panel, a reader gets no insight into how Mulder turns out different having been raised by the CSM.
The CSM looking over Fox is somewhat similar to the real story, wherein the Syndicate grew some Samantha clones. The CSM tried to pass off a Samantha clone (Megan Leitch, whose likeness is used in "Deviations") as Mulder's sister. Possibly, in the real timeline, the Syndicate would've looked after Samantha after the aliens were done with her, but she was abducted (by a human this time) and murdered while still a child, as we found out in Season 7's "Closure."
OK, so in what ways is the Sam-Scully partnership different? Well, at one point the two female agents are nearly run off the road by a young man inquiring if they're up for a threesome. That's different from what Fox and Dana would encounter. But that's about it. It's almost stunning how much this comic fails to deviate from the original narrative.
The only reason to pick up "Deviations," then, is for the mild visual kick of seeing Samantha play out the beats of the classic "No one down here but the FBI's most unwanted" scene, complete with pencils stuck in the office ceiling. (See, I told you it was the EXACT same path.)
If this were merely Issue 1 of an "X-Files: Deviations" miniseries, I'd say it's off to a decent start, although I'd hope more inspiration would strike in later issues. But it was only ever intended to be one issue, so I would've liked a lot more deviation from the familiar story.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksMon, 02 May 2016 00:05:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/5/2/XFiles-Deviations-oneshot-a-pointless-take-on-a-gimmicky-conceptIndex of my ‘X-Files’ reviewshttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/25/Index-of-my-XFiles-reviews
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//x-files-logo.jpg">
Here's an index of my "X-Files"/"Millennium" reviews in TV, movies, books and comics:
TELEVISION AND FILMS
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2010/10/22/My-top-10-Season-1-XFiles-episodes" target="_blank">"X-Files" Season 1 (1993-94)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2010/11/6/Rewatching-and-reviewing-the-classics-XFiles-Season-2" target="_blank">"X-Files" Season 2 (1994-95)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2010/11/25/Rewatching-and-reviewing-the-classics-XFiles-Season-3" target="_blank">"X-Files" Season 3 (1995-96)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2010/12/18/Rewatching-and-reviewing-the-classics-XFiles-Season-4" target="_blank">"X-Files" Season 4 (1996-97)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/1/2/Rewatching-and-reviewing-the-classics-XFiles-Season-5" target="_blank">"X-Files" Season 5 (1997-98)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/1/2/Rewatching-and-reviewing-the-classics-The-XFiles-Fight-the-Future" target="_blank">"X-Files: Fight the Future" (1998)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/2/26/Rewatching-and-reviewing-the-classics-XFiles-Season-6" target="_blank">"X-Files" Season 6 (1998-99)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/3/19/Rewatching-and-reviewing-the-classics-XFiles-Season-7" target="_blank">"X-Files" Season 7 (1999-2000)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/4/9/Rewatching-and-reviewing-the-classics-XFiles-Season-8" target="_blank">"X-Files" Season 8 (2000-01)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/6/12/Rewatching-and-reviewing-the-classics-XFiles-Season-9" target="_blank">"X-Files" Season 9 (2001-02)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/9/3/Rewatching-and-reviewing-the-classics-The-XFiles-I-Want-to-Believe" target="_blank">"X-Files: I Want to Believe" (2008)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/6/19/XFiles-flashback-2016-miniseries" target="_blank">"X-Files" 2016 miniseries</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/7/9/Watching-and-reviewing-the-classics-Millennium-Season-1" target="_blank">"Millennium" Season 1 (1996-97)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/8/6/Watching-and-reviewing-the-classics-Millennium-Season-2" target="_blank">"Millennium" Season 2 (1997-98)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/8/30/Watching-and-reviewing-the-classics-Millennium-Season-3" target="_blank">"Millennium" Season 3 (1998-99)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2011/5/8/Oneseason-wonders-The-Lone-Gunmen" target="_blank">"The Lone Gunmen" (2001)</a>
BOOKS
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/1/24/XFiles-flashback-Goblins-1994" target="_blank">"Goblins" by Charles Grant (1994)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/1/26/XFiles-flashback-Whirlwind-1995" target="_blank">"Whirlwind" by Charles Grant (1995)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/1/28/XFiles-flashback-Ground-Zero-1995" target="_blank">"Ground Zero" by Kevin J. Anderson (1995)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/3/XFiles-flashback-Ruins-1996" target="_blank">"Ruins" by Kevin J. Anderson (1996)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/6/XFiles-flashback-Antibodies-1997" target="_blank">"Antibodies" by Kevin J. Anderson (1997)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/10/XFiles-flashback-Skin-1999" target="_blank">"Skin" by Ben Mezrich (1999)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/1/6/Short-story-collection-Trust-No-One-whets-appetite-for-return-of-XFiles" target="_blank">"Trust No One" short-story collection (2015)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/5/5/The-Truth-is-Out-There-serves-up-another-mixed-bag-of-XFiles-short-stories" target="_blank">"The Truth is Out There" short-story collection (2016)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/12/13/Secret-Agendas-offers-more-XFiles-prose-more-mistakes" target="_blank">"Secret Agendas" short-story collection (2016)</a>
COMIC BOOKS
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/20/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-112-1995" target="_blank">Topps Issues 1-12 (1995)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/26/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-1324-1996" target="_blank">Topps Issues 13-24 (1996)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/28/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-2536-1997" target="_blank">Topps Issues 25-36 (1997)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/29/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-3741-1998" target="_blank">Topps Issues 37-41 (1998)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/2/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-specials-199597-and-Dark-Horse-Lone-Gunmen-oneshot-2001" target="_blank">Topps annuals, digests and special issues (1995-97)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/2/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-specials-199597-and-Dark-Horse-Lone-Gunmen-oneshot-2001" target="_blank">Dark Horse "Lone Gunmen" one-shot (2001)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/9/XFiles-flashback-Wildstorm-Comics-Issues-06-200809" target="_blank">Wildstorm Issues 0-6 (2008-09)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/14/XFiles-flashback-XFiles30-Days-of-Night-comics-201011" target="_blank">Wildstorm/IDW "30 Days of Night" crossover miniseries (2010-11)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/20/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Season-10-comics-Issues-19-201314" target="_blank">IDW Season 10 Issues 1-9 (2013-14)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/22/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Season-10-comics-Issues-1017-2014" target="_blank">IDW Season 10 Issues 10-17 (2014)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/25/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Season-10-comics-Issues-1825-201415" target="_blank">IDW Season 10 Issues 18-25 (2014-15)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/25/Joe-Harris-wraps-up-Gibson-Praise-saga-with-truncated-XFiles-Season-11" target="_blank">IDW Season 11 Issues 1-8 (2015-16)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/9/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Conspiracy-miniseries-2014" target="_blank">IDW "Conspiracy" miniseries (2014)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/14/XFiles-flashback-Year-Zero-2014" target="_blank">IDW "Year Zero" miniseries (2014)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/20/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Millennium-miniseries-2015" target="_blank">IDW "Millennium" miniseries (2015)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/21/XFiles-flashback-2014-Annual-and-XMas-Special" target="_blank">IDW 2014 Annual and X-Mas Special</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/24/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-2015-Annual-and-XMas-Special" target="_blank">IDW 2015 Annual and X-Mas Special</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/5/2/XFiles-Deviations-oneshot-a-pointless-take-on-a-gimmicky-concept" target="_blank">IDW "Deviations" one-shot (2016)</a>
MoviesBooksX-Files/MillenniumTelevisionTelevision (Classic)Comic books*Index: X-Files ReviewsMon, 25 Apr 2016 15:35:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/25/Index-of-my-XFiles-reviewsJoe Harris wraps up Gibson Praise saga with truncated ‘X-Files: Season 11’http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/25/Joe-Harris-wraps-up-Gibson-Praise-saga-with-truncated-XFiles-Season-11
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//x-files-season-11.jpg">
<a href="http://www.idwpublishing.com/product-category/the-x-files/the-x-files-season-11/" target="_blank">IDW's "X-Files: Season 11 comic series</a> (August 2015-March 2016) is the latest epic story to get truncated due to outside commercial forces. Usually, those outside forces are bad (see the cancellation of TV's "Angel" and "Dollhouse" due to low ratings, or the cancellation of the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe – two years ago to this day – to make room for Disney's vision). In this case, those outside forces are good – the return of "The X-Files" to TV, with six episodes earlier this year and hopefully more in the future. But it still led to the shortening of Joe Harris' meticulously crafted Gibson Praise saga – which started back in Season 10, Issue 1, in 2013 – and that's a shame.
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In a letter at the back of the conclusive Issue 8, Harris admits "it wasn't without sadness when we realized the story I had originally projected to run for another 15-plus issues would need to be reimagined after early news of the show's return began to trickle out last year, and the desire to launch a new comics series that would reflect the show's lead seemed an obvious move."
As with "Star Wars" EU fans, this is a case where the die-hard "X-Files" fan gets pushed aside for the casual fan. It's a supreme irony that the comic is considered to be aimed at die-hard fans, yet it also needs to be canceled so as not to confuse casual fans, who might pick up an "X-Files" comic and become a serious fan. The circular logic is almost as mind-boggling as Praise's machinations throughout Seasons 10 and 11.
I would've liked to have read Harris' full 25-issue Season 11, but since I'm in a group deemed to be the minority (the group actually purchasing every "X-Files" comic), I'll never get that. So all we can judge is his eight-issue Season 11. As someone who loves a tight continuity in my sci-fi sagas, the thing I most hoped to see in the conclusion was Gibson using his time-manipulation powers to position Mulder and Scully back in 2013, thus "wiping out" the events of the comic series from the characters' minds – similar to how Mulder has had his memories erased after seeing flying saucers -- while still retaining them as a "true" part of the saga. Harris doesn't precisely do that, but he kind of does, through the invention of a "crucible" in "Endgames" (Issues 6-8), the trilogy that seems to mark the point at which he had to aggressively re-imagine and the Season 11 arc for the sake of shortening it.
Mulder: "What is this place, Gibson?"
Gibson: "A looking glass with infinite planes and surfaces. A focal point, where that temporal phenomenon so artfully employed by those beyond the stars is harnessed. In this crucible of my design and creation, almost anything is possible."
Artist Matthew Dow Smith draws images on the prisms of the Crucible, and one of them shows Mulder wearing the jacket from the premiere of the 2016 miniseries, with his back turned to Scully. This seems to indicate the alternate ("true," if you will) reality of the TV timeline, where M&S's relationship is strained. Issue 8 ends with Mulder stepping out of the Crucible. However, there is no timeline reset; we're left with the notion that the Seasons 10-11 comics timeline goes forward, even as we readers will be switching over to the TV miniseries timeline when the new ongoing "X-Files" title launches this month. So, to summarize: Seasons 10-11 exist in the same multiverse as the TV miniseries, but not the same universe -- Harris doesn't directly link the two timelines together. Basically, he splits the difference.
Consider me mildly satisfied.
Setting aside continuity concerns, is Season 11 any good from a story perspective? Mostly, yes. Much of the season consists of Gibson controlling people with escalating levels of power. Praise gets Scully to help apprehend Mulder for the FBI, and controls Skinner in the finale. Gibson's machinations would have been more satisfying if we could've seen where Harris planned to go with them in a 25-issue arc. Even his origin story, Issue 5 ("My Name is Gibson Praise"), didn't allow me to totally grasp his perspective or sympathize with him. I get the idea that he's lonely because he's super-smart. But how that necessities or excuses him causing mass destruction and death, I'm not sure.
As it stands, we get gray aliens, faceless alien rebels, Mulder on the run from his own employers – a lot of old-hat stuff. The revelation that Mulder and Scully's boss, Deputy Director Morales, is a faceless alien rebel, is pretty satisfying, as it links with the end of the 2015 "Season 11 X-Mas Special" wherein she was (inexplicably at the time) narrating the story from an alien point-of-view. Harris' chronicle of CANTUS – a powerful force in the military-industrial and governmental spying complexes – is on-point and timely (he even makes use of the real-world NSA facility in Utah), but I miss the deeper levels he would've explored in a full-length season.
The highlight of Season 11 is actually its lone Monster of the Month arc, Issues 2-4 ("Home Again"). Admittedly, "Home Again" does have a substantial amount of mytharc material, but even Harris would probably admit the main point in having Gibson send Mulder to Garden County, Nebraska, to rediscover the Peacock family is to tell a good horror sequel. Interestingly, the TV miniseries features an episode titled "Home Again," but even though it's written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, the scribes behind Season 4's "Home," it is not related to "Home." Season 11's "Home Again," on the other hand, is a sequel.
And it's a darn good one, even better than Season 10's "Hosts," as Harris delivers great sexual horror, particularly at the conclusion of Issue 2 when Mulder is coerced into procreating not with the young female Peacock – who is not particularly attractive, but who at least looks human – but rather with the old limbless matriarch who is rolled out from under the bed! Pepper in swarms of Peacock toddlers who have faces of deformed old men, Edmund's method of feeding his mother by chewing and regurgitating food, and the implication that failed Peacock babies are fed to the pigs, and this is envelope-pushing "X-Files" horror in the finest tradition of the original "Home," which Fox refused to air in reruns for several years.
Additionally, Harris gives us flashbacks to the car crash that killed the Peacock patriarch and maimed the mother. This adds another level of horror because we can now sympathize with the Peacocks on a human level, whereas in "Home" they were safely in the category of the unrelatable "other."
If IDW's new ongoing "X-Files" title is going to tie in with Chris Carter's TV plans like it promises (I don't necessarily believe the promise, as Season 10-11 was supposed to be the "official" continuation, too ... until it wasn't anymore), it will want to consider using the Topps and Wildstorm approach to "The X-Files" – telling stories set before the current point of the TV narrative. This means more standalone issues, which might be disappointing for Harris, whose work so far has been 75 percent mytharc stories. On the plus side, "Home Again" demonstrates that he has tremendous talent for writing Monster of the Month yarns, too.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksMon, 25 Apr 2016 14:40:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/25/Joe-Harris-wraps-up-Gibson-Praise-saga-with-truncated-XFiles-Season-11‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW’s 2015 Annual and X-Mas Specialhttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/24/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-2015-Annual-and-XMas-Special
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//x-files-2015-annual.jpg">
While the 2014 Annual and X-Mas Special featured multiple standalone yarns in each issue, IDW takes a different tactic with the 2015 installments, part of the new <a href="http://www.idwpublishing.com/product-category/the-x-files/the-x-files-season-11/" target="_blank">Season 11</a> banner. Both issues feature one double-length story, and while the Annual's story is a standalone set during the heyday of the TV series, the X-Mas Special heavily ties into the events of Season 11.
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The Annual (July) is a bit of a breather before Season 11 proper (which launched in August), as regular scribe Joe Harris allows Michael Raicht to take a crack at "The X-Files." "Most Likely To ..." has elements of Season 1's "Lazarus" and – even more so -- Ray Garton's short story "Paranormal Quest," from the June 2015 collection "Trust No One." Due to the close release dates of "Paranormal Quest" and "Most Likely To ...," it's almost certain that Garton and Raicht were unaware of each other's works.
The fictional TV show in Raicht's story is called "Ghost Encounter Survivors." A husband-and-wife team, Tristan and Kelly, explores haunted houses, trading in on their personal background: As high school students, their friend Colin Mathews either died or vanished in a haunted house they were exploring.
In an unusual start to an X-File, Mulder makes himself a part of the action, pretending to be Colin at the 20-year class reunion in 1999 in Marcellus, N.Y. Although Tristan and Kelly know he's not Colin, Mulder's brash action allows him to delve into the case and pick up clues. Raicht does a nice job showing the relationship between the coy Mulder and the supposedly put-upon Scully, who complains about Mulder dragging her into this charade yet also is intrigued by the mystery.
"Most Likely To ..." doesn't break any new ground, but it's a just-plain-fun read nonetheless.
Harris' "Season 11 X-Mas Special" (December) should ideally be read as part of the Season 11 narrative, after Issue 5. As with most of Harris' "X-Files" works, it's meticulously crafted and centered on the godlike Gibson Praise's manipulations of various people and groups. By the end of the story, I still didn't know Gibson's plan – we're not supposed to know yet – but I enjoyed the ride well enough.
The highlight is that the Lone Gunmen are prominently featured. Langly and Frohike get abducted by gray aliens, and Harris indulges in some dark humor. Frohike's "Listen up, butt probers!" is almost as good as his threat of an "ass-paddling" back in the "Lone Gunmen" TV series. But overall, this is a serious piece, as we see that Gibson is willing to kill not only obvious baddies (the faceless aliens, who are enemies of the grays, who seem to be Gibson's allies), but also innocent people. He offs a planeload of innocents just for the sake of landing a plane. And he theoretically could have just mind-wiped them all, as that's what he does with our reunited heroes' – Scully finds Mulder, and Byers finds his pals -- at the story's end.
I think Gibson's mind-wiping power – combined with his ability to yank people out of the past and into the present, as he does to Krycek in Season 10 – presents an intriguing possibility for Harris to use time-manipulation to square the comics narrative (where M&S return to the X-Files beat in 2013) with that of the TV miniseries (where they return to the job in 2016).
The final page of "Season 11 X-Mas Special" shows us a human woman who had been narrating the whole thing from what sounded like an alien's perspective: "Allow them their appearances and their holiday lies ... our moment is at hand." If this were a TV episode, I'd be able to tell who the woman is supposed to be, but in comic form, I'm not sure. The art by Matthew Dow Smith is, as always, a perfectly moody accompaniment to Harris' writing, but if this is supposed to be a character we're familiar with from the narrative, I simply can't tell. I think the mystery is intentional; when Krycek was revealed in a Season 10 issue, it was done simply with a drawing. Editor Denton J. Tipton admitted in a letters column that he wanted readers to figure out on their own that it was Krycek, rather than spelling it out with words.
At any rate, in my next post, it's on to Season 11 proper. I'll no doubt get my answers there.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksSun, 24 Apr 2016 12:42:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/24/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-2015-Annual-and-XMas-Special‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW's 2014 Annual and X-Mas Specialhttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/21/XFiles-flashback-2014-Annual-and-XMas-Special
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//x-files-annual-2014.jpg">
Resurrecting a tradition from the old Topps comics, <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/The_X-Files:_Season_10" target="_blank">IDW's "X-Files" Season 10 comics</a> have also featured special issues alongside the regular series, starting with 2014's Annual (April) and X-Mas Special (December), both of which feature two stories. While Joe Harris, the writer of the main title, writes one story, he mainly gives other wordsmiths a chance to tell standalone yarns set during any era of the saga.
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Frank Spotnitz, who last contributed to the "X-Files"-verse in three issues of the Wildstorm comics, makes a welcome return on "The Priest" in the annual. Co-written by Gabe Rotter and Shannon Eric Denton, the tale – like Spotnitz's Wildstorm work – reads like storyboards that could be easily adapted into a first-rate episode. The art by Stuart Sayger is not my thing – although I adjusted to it – but I dug the story about a guy who still communicates with his wife despite being dead. Rather than a typical ghost story, we get the "ghost's" confused perspective, and clever deduction by Mulder, who theorizes that a guardian of the afterlife is trying to keep the man from communicating with his wife lest humanity have proof of the afterlife.
Hopefully, Spotnitz – who sat out the 2016 TV miniseries due to his commitment to "The Man in the High Castle" – will get to write "X-Files" TV scripts again. He hasn't lost the touch.
Dave Sim, who I know best from his guest turn on Issue 8 of the old Mirage "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" comics, steps in for another very smart tale, "Talk to the Hand." Set during the 1990s, evidenced in part by the beautiful Scully likenesses by artist Andrew Currie, Sim wonderfully encapsulates a dream state where Scully must work out what she loves more: high school boyfriend Adam, or her FBI job. It's interesting to think about how major life choices can be made by our subconscious selves.
Harris' entry, "Season 10 Greetings," kicks off the X-Mas special, which resurrects the "X-Files' " relationship with Christmas. While there was only one Christmas episode in the series – the beloved Season 6 entry "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" – the very first "X-Files" comic (Topps Issue 1, "Don't Open Until X-Mas") also took place at Christmas.
Like "G-23" (Issues 19-20 of Season 10), this effort is somewhat weird and experimental, although not quite to that degree. Mulder sees aliens, but they keep wiping his mind, much like in the series' second episode, "Deep Throat." Meanwhile, for a more overtly comedic angle that almost borders on a dream state, Skinner is throwing a Christmas party. He gets sloshed while the Lone Gunmen try to take various pictures of people under the mistletoe with an old box camera. Doggett and Reyes appear just for the sake of appearing, nicely summing up their underuse by IDW so far (although it's better than ignoring them). I don't entirely know what to make of this story, but the jokes are timed well and it's nice to see the whole gang of "X-Files" heroes together.
Writer Karl Kesel revisits Special Agent Bing Ellinson and Special Employee Millie Ohio in "Merry Christmas, Comrade!," which he actually teased on the last page of "Year Zero," which came out just before this issue. This story squeezes into the timeline at Christmas 1946, after the denouement of "Year Zero" but before the epilogue. This is their first case on the regular X-Files beat – in the sense that they know it's an X-File before they arrive on the scene of a Detroit war munitions factory menaced by a gremlin.
Ellinson takes somewhat of a backseat here as Millie catches up with an ex-soldier named Hardin, whom she romanced when they were both stationed in Europe in World War II. Having a gremlin on an airplane is a classic use of the creature – before "gremlins" were re-popularized in the 1984 movie (also set at Christmas) -- and it may remind some readers of "Twilight Zone: The Movie." In another holiday touch, Ellinson dresses up as the creature Krampus (roughly, the anti-Santa) in order to scare and capture the gremlin.
When Ellinson gives Ohio a present – a lucky bracelet – it calls to mind Mulder's and Scully's present exchange in "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" and alludes to yet another relationship between FBI partners. Still, it's nice to see Bing and Millie again as the early X-Files become more fleshed out. In a nice continuity nod to Season 5's "Travelers," Ellinson notes that because Hardin is a suspected communist, "Dales and Michels would be my first choice" for the case, rather than he and Ohio.
In my next post, I'll take a look at the 2015 Annual and X-Mas Special.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksThu, 21 Apr 2016 23:59:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/21/XFiles-flashback-2014-Annual-and-XMas-Special‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW’s ‘Millennium’ miniseries (2015)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/20/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Millennium-miniseries-2015
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Millennium-comic1.jpg">
While "The X-Files" was spun off into novels as far back as 1994 and into comics in 1995, its sister series, <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/Millennium" target="_blank">"Millennium"</a> (1996-99), didn't transition to another medium until 2015, 16 years after it left the airwaves. The fact that it's written by Joe Harris, who also meticulously pens the "X-Files" title, makes the five-issue "Millennium" series – a chronological tie-in with <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/The_X-Files:_Season_10" target="_blank">"X-Files" Season 10</a> -- about as good as it can be. But it has two things working against it that it can't quite overcome.
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First, the TV series is a bit of a narrative mess. It's often been said that each of the three seasons seems like a different show; the first was overseen by Chris Carter, the second by Glen Morgan and James Wong, and the third by Carter's hand-picked guys. Carter even admitted to not having watched all of Season 2 when he planned Season 3. Broadly speaking, the crux of "Millennium" is that Frank Black – a brooding Fox Mulder-type, plus visions but minus a sense of humor (except for occasional super-dark humor) – works with the Millennium Group to stop the coming apocalypse ... until he finds out that the group itself aims to bring about the apocalypse.
Harris resurrects the conflict in 2015, with the new wrinkle that Frank's daughter, Jordan, has now grown into a young woman and joined the Millennium Group – which still wants to recruit Frank, and which Frank still doesn't trust.
Oddly, "Millennium's" conflict is in another way rather straightforward. In the standalone episodes, Frank takes on serial killers or other examples of human evil. In the wider mythology, his nemesis is Lucy Butler (Sarah-Jane Redmond), who is literally the Devil, or "Legion," as she prefers to be called in this comic series. (At least, Frank thinks she's the Devil, not just an "ordinary" demon, and I trust his judgement in these matters.)
Second, "Millennium" is more driven by mood than "The X-Files" is. "The X-Files" can smoothly transfer to other media because it is story-driven enough. But "Millennium's" beauty comes from Mark Snow's music (I still think the theme song is the most gorgeous of any TV intro), Lance Henriksen's grim performance and the dark Vancouver-area cinematography befitting the dark themes and stories. The show marinates in the nature of evil, making a viewer dwell in the darkness with Frank, rather than ever coming to any strong conclusions – narrative or thematic.
Harris had brought Frank back into the "X-Files"/"Millennium" fold in Issue 17 of "X-Files" Season 10, basically so Frank and Mulder could cross paths again and say hi. This miniseries starts with Mulder – who shares the Issue 1 cover with Frank – in a courtroom arguing against the release of Monte Propps, a vintage "X-Files" villain who never actually appeared on the show. Mulder wrote a monograph on Propps that led to the serial killer's arrest in 1988 and made the agent a profiling legend within the FBI (until he squandered his good name by obsessing over the X-Files). Before they meet in person, Scully knows Mulder by reputation from the Propps case.
Artist Colin Lorimer and colorist Joana Lafuente ably mimic "Millennium's" mood in comic-book form, even though it's a near-impossible task for the reasons mentioned above. Harris' story has a disconnected feel that kind of works along those lines, too. Essentially, Propps is just one of a series of people Lucy possesses and dispatches until her showdown with Frank, Mulder and Jordan in Issue 5. That's a pretty tasty idea, and it makes me wonder if Lucy possessed Propps going all the way back to 1988.
Another tasty idea is the suggestion that the Millennium group planted bombs in the World Trade Center towers at the turn of Y2K that helped the buildings collapse in the 9/11 attacks 21 months later. While it's a brave concept, the fact that it isn't addressed after Issue 1 is a bit of an evasion by Harris.
Jordan comes onto the scene in Issue 3, and this is where the story would've gained a significant added punch if it were a TV series. Brittany Tiplady hasn't done much acting since playing the role of Jordan as a child, so it would be fascinating to see her return as a young adult. As it stands, I didn't totally grasp that this woman was Jordan, at least not visually. It doesn't help that Frank and Jordan are (relatively) happy when we last see them in 1999 – in the "X-Files" Season 7 episode "Millennium" -- and now they are estranged.
Even though this miniseries is largely just a reminder of the old plot points, it manages to dredge up enough story that it exits with more intriguing threads than when it entered: Specifically, that Jordan is now dealing with full-fledged visions of human-perpetrated horrors just like Frank did. But perhaps because Frank tried to shelter her from her powers for so long, she might not deal with it as well as Frank has. Throw in her involvement with the shifty Millennium Group, and Jordan becomes vulnerable to evil even as she ostensibly fights it. Also, it's not entirely clear how Jordan defeats Lucy. Does she absorb some of her powers? Does she absorb some of her evil? I'd pick up that continuing story – in comic or TV form.
Considering that it's a three-season TV series that's over a decade old, we should probably just be thrilled that we got the five issues of "Millennium" in 2015. Still, with Harris and Carter still overseeing "The X-Files" at IDW, and with Mulder and Frank and their investigations more closely intertwined than in the TV days, it's possible we could get even more "Millennium" (or at least appearances of Frank and Jordan in "The X-Files") somewhere down the road.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksWed, 20 Apr 2016 23:11:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/20/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Millennium-miniseries-2015‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW's ‘Year Zero’ miniseries (2014)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/14/XFiles-flashback-Year-Zero-2014
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The origin of the FBI's X-Files was somewhat convoluted in the TV series, and it becomes more convoluted in the five-issue miniseries <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/The_X-Files:_Season_10" target="_blank">"X-Files: Year Zero"</a> (2014) -- but also more compelling. This second miniseries tying in with IDW's Season 10 comics is a dramatic step up from the uneven "Conspiracy."
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The TV series had two contradictory origins of the X-Files. First, in Season 1's "Shapes," Mulder investigates a case that continues from the "very first X-File, initiated by J. Edgar Hoover himself, in 1946." Second, the Season 5 episode "Travelers" suggests that FBI agent Arthur Dales was the first to delve into the X-Files, in 1952. (However, Arthur's brother – also named Arthur, a Roswell cop – knew an alien baseball player in 1947, as shown in Season 6's "The Unnatural." We also know from that episode that the brothers talked regularly. So perhaps the FBI's Arthur came across strange cases before the events of "Travelers.")
"Year Zero" clarifies that Dales was not the first agent to investigate X-Files. As Mulder notes in Issue 5: "I've met Arthur Dales – he thought he investigated the first X-Files, but he clearly didn't know about the 1940s cases. I doubt if many agents did."
So in this miniseries we get the definitive "first X-File," and it's not merely the backstory of "Shapes." The title "Year Zero" has multiple meanings: It's the origin of the casefiles themselves, and it also features a villain named Zero. Pointedly, this supernatural being goes by "Zero" in his interactions with Mulder and Scully in 2014, but went by "Xero" in his interactions with FBI agent Bing Ellinson and Special Employee Millie Ohio in 1946.
When Hoover assigns the duo to investigate odd cases – from a sub-basement office, perhaps the same one M&S will later use – Ellinson notes that "these weird cases we're looking into – they're all because of Mr. Xero. They're all X-Files." (This arguably contradicts "Travelers," where we learned that, in 1952, unsolved cases were filed under "U" by an FBI secretary until she ran out of room, at which point she used "X," as that drawer had extra space available.)
At any rate, "Year Zero" works largely because Ellinson and Ohio are likable leads. Ellinson has a bit of a temper and an interest in secret government experiments in New Mexico. For those reasons, he is being marginalized by his bosses. Ohio is a woman and is therefore being marginalized – see the "Special Employee" title. Neither is thrilled to be working with the other, yet they share the common need to demonstrate their worth to their bosses so they don't get fired. Bing is like a hardboiled detective and Millie reminds me of the lead from "Marvel's Agent Carter" with the way she's constantly having to prove that she can do a traditional man's job.
The "Shapes" tie-in is pretty straightforward, as a man turns into a Manitou in Montana, as per the werewolf-style mythology. The additional layer to the story is that Xero/Zero gives the FBI agents – in both the past and the present – tips about supernatural events (such as the Manitou) via intermediaries. His goal is ultimately sinister, as he wants to track down one of the intermediaries, who owes him something in exchange for making her immortal. Writer Karl Kesel does a nice job of making a reader uneasy about whether Xero is a playful or dangerous entity.
The art on "Year Zero" is effective. Greg Scott and Vic Malhotra share the art credit, with colors by Mat Lopes. My guess is that one of the artists did the past scenes and the other did the present-day scenes. The 1946 panels are drawn with solid lines, pastel colors and sparse backgrounds; the 2014 panels feature more shading and gloomy backgrounds. The contrast nicely evokes the nostalgia of the past much like "Travelers" and "The Unnatural" did with their lighting and color palette choices.
Occasionally, the idea of "The X-Files" going forward on TV without Mulder and Scully is bandied about. In 2002, the show could've continued with Doggett and Reyes, but Chris Carter instead opted to shut it down when ratings dropped below that of timeslot competitor "Alias." He felt that not enough people wanted a Doggett/Reyes series. The introduction of agents Einstein and Miller in the 2016 miniseries can't help but make me speculate about a regular series with those agents, with M&S popping in when David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are up for it.
But "Year Zero," with its strong leads and nostalgic setting, pitches what might be the best spinoff idea – one starring Ellinson and Ohio.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksThu, 14 Apr 2016 22:32:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/14/XFiles-flashback-Year-Zero-2014‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW's ‘Conspiracy’ miniseries (2014)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/9/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Conspiracy-miniseries-2014
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The "X-Files"/"30 Days of Night" miniseries from 2010-11 was a crossover that made sense: Both franchises logically occupied the same world. The <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/The_X-Files:_Season_10" target="_blank">"X-Files: Conspiracy"</a> miniseries (2014) is noticeably more forced, as IDW attempted to pitch four of its other licensed franchises – "Ghostbusters," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Transformers" and "The Crow" – to "X-Files" fans in its first Season 10 side venture.
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The six-issue series does some things right. The framing story – featured in Issues 1 and 6 – is built on an intriguing sci-fi premise: The Lone Gunmen (recall that they are alive in the comics timeline, having faked their deaths in "Jump the Shark") receive a message from the future warning them about a rather gruesome viral outbreak. People essentially develop metal spears internally and are stabbed to death from the inside. The mysterious informants (revealed in the final issue to be the Gunmen themselves, along with Mulder and Scully) use new Higgs Boson-based technology at CERN to send the warning back in time, along with some leads.
Another good call is using the Gunmen as the main characters (although why the title isn't "The Lone Gunmen: Conspiracy," I'm not sure). By loosely tapping into the lighter tone of the "Lone Gunmen" TV series, the encounters with the Ghostbusters, Turtles, Transformers and The Crow play more smoothly than if Mulder and Scully were the main protagonists.
But there's no denying that the middle four issues are side trips, as the Gunmen glean just a bit more information on the way to the finish line, and the main goal is to try to hook "X-Files" readers on these other franchises. (You really could read just Issues 1 and 6 and get most of the story.) Of the four middle issues, I was most intrigued by "TMNT" (Issue 3); I'm a fan of the classic Eastman & Laird comics and some other incarnations of the Turtles. Although I haven't dived into IDW's version yet, I admit to being somewhat intrigued by the way it seems to blend aspects of E&L's work with aspects of the cartoons and Archie comics.
As the Gunmen come across the Turtles near the famous Northampton farm, Leonardo is recovering from being brainwashed by the Foot Clan, so obviously this issue ties in with a storyline from the proper "TMNT" series. Another fun twist is that Ronnie Strickland, the vampire kid from Season 5's "Bad Blood," pops up again; it's amusing, though, that Mulder immediately recognizes the connection – and recalls Strickland's name -- from a 16-year-old case, just with a brief description over the phone.
The "Crow" issue (5) works as a respectful introduction to the premise of that moody franchise, wherein a supernatural crow lets dead people live long enough to carry out an act of vengeance that provides closure. But the "Ghostbusters" (2) and "Transformers" issues (4) come off as shallow and silly. In the latter case, Langly banters with Bumblebee about how they are "ninja buddies."
The Gunmen decide not to publish anything about these encounters because, as Byers says in the "Transformers" issue, no one will believe it: "Mutated man-turtles? Ghost hunters? Time travel? I think even Mulder would have a hard time believing, and that's saying something." Lines like this – and while this is the worst example, there are others – show that the writers don't have a great grasp of "The X-Files." Mulder would most definitely believe in all these things; in fact, he had encountered all of them before. He himself has hunted ghosts at times, man-turtles aren't much removed from flukemen, and Mulder dealt with time travel in Season 4's "Synchrony." Gibson Praise's pseudo-time-travel ability to pull people out of the past into the present – as he does with Krycek -- also factors into Season 10, although admittedly Mulder doesn't know that at this point in the timeline.
Another oddity is that the Gunmen joke in the final issue about how James Bond should go by "Jimmy Bond." No doubt writer Paul Crilley (who also penned Issues 1 and 4, the "Transformers" issue) is riffing on the fact that the Gunmen's benefactor in the TV series was named Jimmy Bond. But it's strange that the trio doesn't directly reference this. The banter of the trio in "Conspiracy" isn't so off base to be distracting, but it's also clear that the writers aren't intimately familiar with these characters and how they interact.
(And come to think of it, it's strange that Jimmy doesn't appear in any of the comics. I suppose it's possible that the government funds the Lone Gunman newspaper as part of its deal with the trio, but even if that's the case, Jimmy should still be involved in their lives as he had become their friend. Yves would also be a welcome addition to the comics, although the writers would need to find a compelling use for her. But Jimmy should be hanging around as comic relief, if nothing else. It seems Jimmy and Yves suffered fates similar to Doggett and Reyes: The comics writers just don't have much use for them the way the TV shows did.)
As for the conclusion of "Conspiracy," it turns out that the virus was developed by a splinter group of the government/alien conspiracy that aimed to wipe out all humans. Or something like that. Even when it's trying to be relatively serious, "Conspiracy" still comes off as cartoony. It's nice that the Lone Gunmen get to be the stars of this six-issue miniseries, but compared to the TV series and the "Gunmen" one-shot from Dark Horse, "Conspiracy" is a weak entry.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksSat, 09 Apr 2016 23:36:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/4/9/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Conspiracy-miniseries-2014‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW’s Season 10 comics Issues 18-25 (2014-15)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/25/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Season-10-comics-Issues-1825-201415
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This final batch of <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/The_X-Files:_Season_10" target="_blank">IDW's "X-Files" Season 10 comics</a> continues the slight downward trend since the series' beginning but provides a kinda, sorta satisfying wrap-up – and also a cliffhanger leading into Season 11, fitting with the TV series' approach. The final mytharc, "Elders" (Issues 21-25), has the epic feel of a mythology episode – a trick that writer Joe Harris is very good it achieving, as shown with "Believers" (1-5) and "Pilgrims" (11-15) before this. It suitably explains the powers of the Glasses Wearing Man, revealed in Issue 22 to be Gibson Praise, but doesn't tell us why he's doing the things he's doing.
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Put simply, Gibson – always drawn by Matthew Dow Smith in a shadow-drenched "Sin City" style emphasizing his glasses -- has such god-like powers that he might as well be a god. Throughout Season 10, he has been manipulating events both specific to our characters and to humanity worldwide. Mulder is targeted by the FBI, then the DOJ, then the AG in this final arc, all because a woman revealed that he once counseled her about her alien abduction. He wasn't authorized to use FBI funds to do this, so certainly a reprimand is in order. But when the entire justice system comes down on Mulder, it's a frightening reminder that when you're targeted by the government, you are toast. The downside is that we aren't privy to the specifics of how Gibson is doing this ("god-like powers" will suffice for now) or why he is doing this (he keeps assuring Scully that it was "the only way" to get Mulder safely out of the FBI, as he had used his super-mind to examine all possible futures).
As for world events, Harris briefly shows us that Gibson is the reason why Guantanamo Bay is still open. In the real world, Gitmo is opposed by both liberty-minded people who believe prisoners should not be held unless they are charged with a crime and put on trial, and by warmongers who believe terrorism-based prisoners should be executed rather than indefinitely detained. President Obama – the commander-in-chief, who presumably has the power to back up this promise -- promised to shut down Gitmo, but still has not done so eight years later, leaving the baffling question of "Why?" Harris effectively peppers in that real-world mystery by having Gibson use Gitmo as a base for his clone-growing operations and a source of hapless experimental subjects (along with the wider expanse of Cuba).
"Elders" crystalizes what an eagle-eyed reader might've already guessed: All of the Syndicate members in Season 10 are clones. They share "92 percent" of the genetic material of the original person. (That's an odd number: When one considers that chimps and humans share almost 99 percent of the same DNA, someone who is 92 percent the Cigarette-Smoking Man should not look and behave identically to the CSM. But we'll set that aside for now.) The alien-abduction victim whom Gibson brought back in Issue 21 to trigger the persecution of Mulder is also 92 percent the same. We can presume Gibson had access to the genetic material of everyone he "brought back" through his alliance with the aliens, specifically the shapeshifting Acolytes (introduced in Issue 1 but on the bench since Issue 18). Gibson's hack of the FBI's X-Files back in "Believers" then allowed him to program these clones with most of their original memories.
When Scully shoots Gibson in the head in Issue 25, and then he re-emerges as not just one clone but dozens of clones, it reveals an even greater level of power (as well as a lead-in to Season 11). Gibson's most notable god-like power, though, was introduced (and then set aside) back in "Pilgrims": He yanked Krycek out of a moment in the past, bringing him into the present. And he had done this several times. I think the ability to manipulate time might offer Harris an "out" if he wants to make Seasons 10 and 11 canonical with the 2016 TV miniseries. We'll find out if he tries this tactic when Season 11 concludes later this month.
"Elders" may not hold up as complete package of storytelling, but it is an enjoyable read because Harris nails the voices of all the characters. I can hear William B. Davis saying the Cigarette-Smoking Man's lines, and Don S. Williams delivering the First Elder's dialogue, and so forth.
As for the issues leading up to the final mytharc, I'm not so fond of them. "Monica & John" (18) is the worst issue of Season 10 – and this is coming from someone who loves Doggett and Reyes. We learn what happened to the agents, who disappeared back in "Believers": They were held in two nearby basements in South Dakota for 18 months by an Acolyte. Much like Chris Carter's use of Reyes in the TV miniseries – where she was inexplicably the CSM's nursemaid – "Monica & John" puts these former lead characters back into the series, which is a good thing, but does nothing with them that relates to their personalities or character growth, which is a bad thing. Both are more or less fine after escaping captivity, which is good I suppose, but also ridiculous; they should be traumatized beyond belief after 18 months of nothing but silence, darkness and three meals a day. We also don't know why the Acolyte was holding them; in retrospect, I suppose puppet-master Gibson Praise just wanted Doggett and Reyes out of the way.
"G-23" (19-20) no doubt has its proponents, but it's not my cup of tea. The art isn't the problem, as it's drawn by Tom Mandrake, who also drew the outstanding "30 Days of Night" crossover. But it's entirely a psychedelic episode, one of those stories where it's implied that you'll enjoy it more if you're smoking marijuana or dropping acid or something. In a nutshell, a government experiment with highly potent marijuana at Nevada's Area 51 backfired in the early days of the conspiracy. We see this story through Mulder's hallucinating mind – and Langly also imbues the weed, apparently because he likes getting high – and the punchline is that the super-weed had "aliens" in it. Among the wild moments is Mulder's vision of Scully as "Red," a cigarette-smoking, pantyhose-wearing femme fatale. Essentially, Harris is doing an off-kilter episode in the vein of Darin Morgan's work or Carter's "Post-Modern Prometheus" or "Bad Blood." I admire the effort to mix up the tone of Season 10, but it's just not my thing, especially as it comes on the heels of the return – and prompt return to the bench -- of Doggett and Reyes.
All told, though, Harris does an admirable job on Season 10, consistently maintaining the pacing, tone and character voices from the TV series, even if Gibson Praise's specific goals remain too much of a mystery in the end. In future flashback posts, I'll look at the spinoff miniseries and special issues associated with Season 10, and then I'll move into Season 11.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksFri, 25 Mar 2016 14:01:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/25/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Season-10-comics-Issues-1825-201415‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW’s Season 10 comics Issues 10-17 (2014)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/22/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Season-10-comics-Issues-1017-2014
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After a strong first nine issues, <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/The_X-Files:_Season_10" target="_blank">IDW's "X-Files" Season 10 comics</a> hit a dip in quality from Issues 10-17 (2014). On my first read, this was the point where I started to sour a bit on Joe Harris' storytelling. On my second read, I realize this was mostly because of the one-month gap between issues. Reading them in one sitting allows the story to flow much better. Still, there is some dense stuff in this batch. As with the heyday of "The X-Files," your enjoyment will depend on whether you frustrate yourself by trying to understand every little plot point in the mythology, or whether you're content to grasp the big picture.
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On the surface, "More Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man" (Issue 10) should be as juicy as Season 10's previous sequel-to-a-classic-episode, "Hosts" (6-7). While we do get to see Bill Mulder and Cassandra Spender in some of the flashbacks, the overall package is dodgy, largely because the present-day CSM is not the real CSM; he is an alien shapeshifter under the control of – as we learn in the final panel – the Glasses Wearing Man (as he came to be known on the letters page). In fact, the CSM is not merely one shapeshifter, he is an endless string of shapeshifters (as we find out at the end of Issue 15, "Pilgrims, Part 5") created, programmed and controlled by the GWM. (Granted, the fact that this isn't the real CSM makes the yarn a nice parallel to Season 4's "Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man," which didn't tell strictly real stories from the villain's past.)
It helps on this re-read that I know the GWM is Gibson Praise, the chess prodigy with alien DNA who was last seen as a kid on the TV series. He is now grown up and using his alien-human-hybrid super-brain power to control these shapeshifters; if memory serves, his endgame is more or less to take over the world.
"Pilgrims" (11-15) is the next big mytharc, following the season-launching "Believers" (1-5). Mulder, Scully and Assistant Director Morales travel to Saudi Arabia to investigate a case that reintroduces staple elements from classics like Season 4's "Tunguska" and the first movie, "Fight the Future." Our heroes are menaced by various people under the control of the black oil (Earth's original alien settlers, as the movie told us). Scully is transported via alien spaceship from Saudi Arabia back to Washington, D.C., as Mulder records "missing time" (a central notion of UFOlogy that I have never totally grasped). Skinner holds Krycek (yes, Ratboy returns from the dead; more on that in a bit) in his apartment, like in "Tunguska," and Mulder is possessed by the black oil (again, like in "Tunguska"), putting Scully in yet another situation where she has to figure out "Mulder" is not Mulder – this happened a few times in the TV series, and as recently as "Believers," where a shapeshifter posed as her partner.
Scully is left with a pseudo-amnesia that always accompanies "X-Files" abductions – even unusually brief ones like this. Memory loss is a hard thing to portray in comics – writer Stefan Petrucha also had this problem in his arc that opened the Topps Comics run – because the writers can't lean on actors playing "confused."
Krycek is also confused about why he has been thrown into this story; the last thing he remembers is puking black oil out of his facial orifices in "Tunguska." Harris does an excellent job writing the shifty character made famous by Nicholas Lea; so often on the show, a viewer wanted to trust him even though we knew we shouldn't, similar to voters during election season. But in "Pilgrims," his return from the dead -- he was clearly gunned down by Skinner in Season 8's "Existence" -- is so bizarre that it makes sense to believe Krycek's confusion.
It turns out that the villain of this grand scheme (later revealed to be Gibson Praise) has the power to yank Krycek from right after his black-oil possession in 1996 and bring him into modern time to use as an agent. Or something like that. Krycek's return – on the heels of the CSM's "return" – smacks a bit too much of a "greatest hits" album, even with Harris capturing Ratboy's voice. And Praise's ability to pull people through time like that is arguably too incredible of a power to be plausible or compelling. Yes, "The X-Files" touched on time travel in the Season 4 standalone "Synchrony," but the mytharc is dense enough without throwing time-travel conundrums into the mix.
"Immaculate" (16-17) is the weakest Season 10 monster-of-the-month yarn up to this point, albeit one featuring a cool cameo. It starts with a "pre-credits" sequence in the finest tradition of "The X-Files," as a visibly pregnant woman named Joanie Cartwright enters an abortion clinic. Just as the doctor is about to begin the procedure, the receptionist realizes this same woman had an abortion mere months earlier; it's not a baby she's carrying, but rather a bomb. However, as the clinic goes kaboom, the woman walks away unharmed.
But "Immaculate" doesn't go anywhere from there; Harris doesn't delve deeply into abortion from either side of the issue (although one could argue the fact that Joanie is possessed by the Devil is a stark commentary on abortion). Everyone in this small North Carolina town seems possessed – calling to mind Season 2's "Die Hand Die Verletzt" and "Our Town" and several other "odd townsfolk" yarns – but in three different ways: One group follows Joanie, one group claws their eyes out (like in Season 5's "Chinga," where an evil doll makes them do it) and members of the third faction – the abortion protestors -- are redundantly shot to death AND scared to death by Joanie's faction.
"Millennium's" Frank Black makes his comic-book debut in Issue 17, which also marks his first appearance of this millennium (his prior appearance was in the "X-Files" Season 7 episode "Millennium," which aired in 1999). The psychic Black implies to Mulder than Joanie is possessed by the Devil (or possibly an incarnation of the Devil), but it's weird that he doesn't clearly spell this out to Mulder, who assures Frank that "When it comes to the paranormal, I'm ready to believe you. Ask around." Frank beats around the bush, presumably for the sake of maintaining the mystery, but it would've been more fun to hear Black and Mulder speak frankly about this case, something neither of them can do around most people. Sometimes the Frank-vs.-the-Devil stories (the Devil is Lucy Butler, played by Sarah-Jane Redmond) worked well on "Millennium" thanks to the show's deliciously dark mood, but there's not much depth or intrigue to this conflict in the comic pages.
Still, it is nice to see Frank Black return after a too-long absence (even with "The X-Files" TV revival, it seems unlikely Lance Henriksen will get to reprise his role). Issue 17 was somewhat of a teaser for a five-issue "Millennium" miniseries that followed in early 2015, and which I will review in a future flashback post.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksTue, 22 Mar 2016 23:27:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/22/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Season-10-comics-Issues-1017-2014‘X-Files’ flashback: IDW’s Season 10 comics Issues 1-9 (2013-14)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/20/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Season-10-comics-Issues-19-201314
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<a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/The_X-Files:_Season_10" target="_blank">IDW's "X-Files" Season 10 comics</a> mark the first time Chris Carter has a story credit on an "X-Files" comic – he co-wrote Issues 1-5, "Believers," with series helmer Joe Harris – but, ironically, IDW's series now seems less canonical than Topps' or Wildstorm's. Although neither Carter nor Harris has issued a statement about the canonicity of the series, it seems pretty obvious that this is what happened: When IDW's "X-Files" launched in 2013, it was intended to be canonical. Then, in 2016, Carter changed his mind when he relaunched "The X-Files" for TV, no doubt figuring that too much of the TV audience was unfamiliar with the comic to make the new episodes tie in with the comic.
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The final issue of Season 11 will be released later this month, and I suppose it could theoretically rectify the contradictions between the comic and TV event series, although Harris has his work cut out to pull that off. Then IDW will launch a new ongoing title that supposedly will fit with the new TV continuity. The irony of all this is that the comic – along with Kumail Nanjiani's "X-Files Files" podcast and a general public thirst for more "X-Files" – is part of what led to the new episodes. I'm not complaining, but it is kind of frustrating that Seasons 10 and 11 have been rendered non-canon, because the first thing I notice on my reread of Season 10 Issues 1-9 (2013-14) is that they are really good.
The most blatant continuity glitch is the time at which Mulder and Scully return to the FBI's X-Files division, as well as their relationship status when they do so. In the comic, they return to the X-Files in 2013, and in the TV show, they return to the X-Files in 2016; both stories feature elements that set the stories in real time. In the comic, M&S are a couple, still living together in their rural Virginia house from "I Want to Believe." In the TV show, they have split up, although they still care deeply about each other and work well together.
An additional possible continuity glitch is that Season 10, Issue 2 reveals that the Lone Gunmen faked their deaths – as portrayed in Season 9's "Jump the Shark" – with the help of the federal government. In "Babylon," the fifth episode of the six-episode event series – which, to confuse matters further, is now referred to as "Season 10" by many sources, including IMDB – Mulder hallucinates playing cards with the Lone Gunmen. While the suggestion is that he is seeing dead people, the sequence doesn't definitively say the Gunmen are dead. It gets weirder: In an Entertainment Weekly interview, Carter said "I didn't want to pretend they weren't dead but was looking for any way to bring them back." This is despite the fact that he co-wrote the comic story that revealed they faked their deaths!
So, in a nutshell: Carter changed his mind. The IDW comics were originally canonical, and now it seems they aren't. Basically, "X-Files" fans are in the same position as "Star Wars" fans; there are now two continuities: The one that used to be canonical, and the one that is currently canonical.
At any rate, whether canonical or not, these stories are worth a second look, so here goes:
Wildstorm's run ended in 2011 and IDW's started in 2013, meaning that 2012 is the only year between 2008 and today that featured no new "X-Files" stories. This is supremely ironic considering that Season 9 ended with the prophecy that alien colonization would begin on Dec. 22, 2012, the last day of the Mayan calendar. The TV event series vaguely told us that colonization did indeed "begin" in 2012, but not in a way that the populace noticed. In Season 10 Issue 3, Mulder tells the Cigarette-Smoking Man (later revealed to be an Acolyte alien shapeshifter who passes himself off as the CSM thanks to information gleaned from the Acolytes' hacking of the X-Files), "You told me when the aliens were going to invade and none of it came to pass!"
In addition to addressing the 2012 question, "Believers" immediately addresses the two major oversights from "I Want to Believe": The lack of continuation of the narrative about William, and the lack of mention of Doggett and Reyes. In "Believers," much like in the TV event series, Scully is haunted by wondering what happened to the son she put up for adoption. The arc also reveals that Doggett and Reyes still work for the FBI, albeit not as partners and not in the X-Files division, which has been closed since 2002. Doggett investigates a pipeline of magnetite, which the Syndicate (or its post-Syndicate equivalent) constructed in a circle around Yellowstone Park as a barrier to contain the Acolytes. Reyes checks in on William's adoptive parents in Wyoming and finds they have been murdered by the Acolytes. (Reyes' continued FBI employment isn't necessarily a contradiction with the TV event series, as we don't know the precise timeframe she was nursing the CSM back to health, having been blackmailed by him.)
In other nods to the second movie, the restless Mulder is writing (with a typewriter!) "I Want to Believe: A Memoir by Fox Mulder"; in the film, Scully suggested he write a book about his X-Files experiences as a balm for his restlessness. Also, Scully is still working at (presumably) the same children's hospital. For some reason, she and Mulder have changed their last name to "Blake," which was not the case in the film. It's not much of a protection from the Acolytes, at any rate.
One thread IDW does not continue from "I Want to Believe" is the question of whether Scully's cancer patient, Christian, survived his cutting-edge stem-cell treatment, or whether he died. That remains a mystery in both the comics and the TV series, which is odd because he should occupy an important place in Scully's heart along with William and Emily, her other lost children.
"Believers" plays very much like a sweeps-month mythology story, featuring the seeming hanging death of Skinner, the seeming return of the CSM, the seeming shooting of Mulder at the hands of Scully (and vice-versa!), M&S's near-reunion with their son, and the disappearances of Doggett and Reyes. It has a bit of a "greatest hits" feel. In Season 2's "Colony," Scully had to figure out which Mulder was real and which was the shapeshifter, and the Mulder-bodysnatching idea came up yet again in Season 4's "Small Potatoes" and Season 6's "Dreamland." And the CSM has, of course, returned from the dead many times.
It's somewhat surprising that "Believers" is such a blatant continuation of the mythology, putting to rest the notion that Season 9 put a bow on the mythology in any way, shape or form. Harris is saying that if "The X-Files" is going to continue, it should aggressively continue – and on this re-read, I'm in agreement. The TV event series also aggressively threw us back into mythology mode with its first episode.
In the subsequent issues, Harris goes solo, without the assistance of Carter, but these next four issues are even better. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. X" (Issue 8), like "Believers," features art by Michael Walsh, who has a sketchy style I don't like as much as the crisp, clear renderings from Topps, Wildstorm and other IDW artists. Still, I got used to it, and the B&W flashback scenes in Issue 8 are wonderfully moody, especially when the gun-toting schoolkids are rendered in red.
"Being for the Benefit of Mr. X" flashes back to 1987, when Mr. X covered up a school shooting that came about from a mind-control experiment botched by the Syndicate related to Purity Control (the Syndicate's plan to create alien-human hybrids). The current "Mr. X" is – like the phony CSM – an Acolyte shapeshifter armed with knowledge from the X-Files hack, which is kind of a hoary premise, but the flashback is wonderful, as it shows Mr. X interacting with the CSM and Deep Throat back in the day. Indeed, Deep Throat gives himself the unofficial code-name in this story after he and Mr. X have a showdown in front of the Washington Post building (where Watergate's Deep Throat made contact with reporters in the 1970s).
The fact that IDW delves so heavily into the mythology is the biggest difference from the Topps and Wildstorm comics. But the publisher doesn't abandon Monster of the Month yarns, and indeed, "Hosts" (Issues 6-7) struck me as the best "X-Files" comic story ever on my original read. While I was no doubt enamored simply by the concept of revisiting the famous half-human, half-flukeworm sewer monster from Season 2's "The Host," the sequel is certainly no hack job. As new Deputy Director Morales asks M&S to button up old cases, we learn the complete backstory of the Flukeman, which dates back to the Chernobyl incident. But more importantly, Harris – with artists Elena Casagrande and Silvia Califano delivering crisp yet moody art more to my liking – comes up with delicious creep-outs. Scully unfreezes the half-Flukeman from the original case, and it begins to regenerate its upper half! During the show's original run, around Season 7 or so, Carter said he'd like to do more MOTW sequels once the mythology was wrapped up. That never happened in earnest; if it had, "Hosts" is the type of episode I would've liked to have seen.
"Chitter" (Issue 9) is not a sequel, but it certainly calls to mind Season 3's "War of the Coprophages" in being cockroach-centric. It ends with a creepy reveal of a basement full of skeletonized missing persons in a small Pennsylvania town, and it shows that Harris can effectively cram a standalone yarn into one issue, like Topps used to do. He makes no overt connection to the "Coprophages" cockroaches (which were actually government-created spy devices), but it's interesting to note that these cockroaches do control the minds of people who are "in despair and pain," and that Scully feels light-headed around their influence. Scully's depression and malaise over giving up William for adoption were also played up in "I Want to Believe" and the TV event series.
Whether the TV event series or IDW did the post-"I Want to Believe" story "better" is open to debate (I like both of them). It's undeniable, though, that IDW got there first, and Harris does an admirable job launching Season 10. But can he keep it up? More on that in future flashback posts.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksSun, 20 Mar 2016 21:00:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/20/XFiles-flashback-IDWs-Season-10-comics-Issues-19-201314‘X-Files’ flashback: ‘X-Files’/‘30 Days of Night’ comics (2010-11)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/14/XFiles-flashback-XFiles30-Days-of-Night-comics-201011
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As a fan delves deeper into his favorite TV series, he'll inevitably start to wander down the rabbit hole of crossovers. In addition to the obvious connections to "Millennium" and "The Lone Gunmen," "The X-Files" is arguably also part of the same universe as "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "Law & Order: SVU" due to Det. John Munch (Richard Belzer) appearing in Season 5's "Unusual Suspects." And the Season 2 episode "Red Museum" loosely links with "Picket Fences." Mulder and Scully also appeared on "The Simpsons."
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But – aside from fellow Carter-verse shows "Millennium" and "The Lone Gunmen" – the most effective "X-Files" crossover is the <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/Comics" target="_blank">"X-Files"/"30 Days of Night" six-issue comic series</a> from Wildstorm and IDW in 2010-11. It's co-written by "30 Days of Night" creator Steve Niles and – as it's set during the 1990s, when M&S work for the FBI – it serves as a prequel to the proper "30 Days of Night" series. Whether a fan wants to link it with "30 Days of Night" comics or movie franchise is another rabbit hole of discussion.
Regardless, this is a richly realized series that slathers the pages with almost as much storytelling intrigue as gore-encrusted killings. As with Season 1's "Ice" and Topps comics Issues 8-9, "Silent Cities of the Mind," the action is set in the snow-covered Alaskan wilderness. Artist Tom Mandrake effectively captures the isolation of this locale, starting with a trucker who comes upon a graveyard of crashed trucks and a grisly tableau that would make Hannibal Lecter proud: A dozen headless corpses are frozen into a totem display, with the heads arranged at the base.
"The X-Files" loosely tackled vampires twice during the TV run – in Season 2's "3," one of the series' most loathed episodes, and Season 5's "Bad Blood," one of the most beloved episodes. But "30 Days of Night" is a comparatively serious and detailed take on vampire lore. Mulder suspects from the get-go that vampires are to blame for the killings – although, similar to "The Walking Dead" not using the word "zombie," he never actually says "vampire."
Thankfully, it's not a case of going through the motions as Niles' and Adam Jones' yarn unspools. Rather, we learn about the specifics of the "30 Days of Night" mythology, complete with a limbless former sea captain who had been cursed with eternal life (or unlife, as it were) by the creatures; native Inuit who know they must fight off the beasts until sunlight returns; and Russian agents stationed just on the other side of the boundary line who are hunting the monsters.
Similar to "The Strain," although with a bit less ancient mythology, we see that the traditional rules loosely apply – sunlight is bad for the creatures, and a bullet through the head isn't enough to kill one. But these are not sexy Dracula-style vampires. Although they talk to each other in their own language and have a culture of sorts, they attack with viciousness and psychological cruelty, as the opening tableau suggests.
Mandrake delivers evocative images like an icebreaker ship caught in the ice for decades, the FBI's makeshift encampment, and the small town itself: Wainwright, a real-life town of about 500 people not too far (in Alaska terms) from Barrow, where the primary "30 Days of Night" saga takes place. Furthering the geography lesson, the Russians have a base on their Big Diomede Island, which neighbors the U.S. island of Little Diomede.
Mulder's conflict with Federal Agent Robert Daniel French, who Mulder denigrates with the name "Frenchy" in payback for the man "riding (him) since Quantico" for his "spooky" theories, is a bit clichéd -- both in the sense of having a human villain amid a horror yarn and in the sense of Mulder being taunted with "Spooky." On the plus side, I love that the Russian base features agents who are fans of M&S's work, as they head up the Russian equivalent of the X-Files. (It's too bad Mulder couldn't team up with those Russian allies during his adventures in Season 4's "Tunguska.") I also like how Skinner stands up for Mulder and Scully when French whines about their involvement.
In the end, I almost want to watch the 2007 "30 Days of Night" movie to experience the "sequel" to this "X-Files" story (although the absence of M&S would no doubt be a letdown). At any rate, in the often highly commercialized realm of comic-book crossovers, "X-Files"/"30 Days of Night" is one of the good ones, as it makes logical sense and respectfully showcases both franchises.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksMon, 14 Mar 2016 22:47:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/14/XFiles-flashback-XFiles30-Days-of-Night-comics-201011‘X-Files’ flashback: Wildstorm Comics Issues 0-6 (2008-09)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/9/XFiles-flashback-Wildstorm-Comics-Issues-06-200809
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Kicking off the second phase of the "X-Files" franchise, creator Chris Carter and fellow executive producer Frank Spotnitz were interested in checking in on Mulder and Scully's relationship and job statuses in the 2008 movie "I Want to Believe." However, they weren't interested in continuing the mythology at that time, much to the consternation of many fans. The seven issues from <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/Comics" target="_blank">Wildstorm Comics</a> in the movie's wake didn't continue the story from Season 9 or from "I Want to Believe," but rather told new stories set during the timeframe of the original series.
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The upside is that whereas the showrunners' involvement with the Topps comics was almost nonexistent, Carter and Spotnitz were involved with the Wildstorm comics, at least at the outset. In an interview in the back of Issue 0 (September 2008), Carter says " 'The X-Files' has proven to be such a flexible concept ... the comic book is an opportunity to expand on that." The undercurrent of that statement is that this is a canonical series, and the fact that Spotnitz writes Issues 0, 1 and 2 cinches that theory. Spotnitz adds that these tales are set roughly between Seasons 2 and 5.
Right off the bat, the most notable difference from the Topps series is the consistent moody darkness of the art by Brian Denham (pencils and inks) and Kelsey Shannon and Carlos Badilla (colors). Topps' work was sometimes dark, but just as often done in the traditional four-color style. Like the Topps artists, Denham captures Mulder's and Scully's likenesses beautifully.
In Issue 0 (a new story in the old timeframe, despite the fact that the cover confusingly features the poster art from "I Want to Believe"), Spotnitz starts with a tale of a "missing woman (who) turns up after 17 years ... not having aged a day," as Mulder puts it. The agent makes no reference to the episode "Invocation" – which, granted, took place after this, during the Doggett days of Season 8 – nor to "Thin Air" (Topps Issue 17), about pilots who turn up unaged after a half-century. Ultimately, this tale ends up being extremely similar to the "Buffy" Season 2 episode "The Dark Age," about a demon who jumps between different host bodies.
Spotnitz does a bang-up job on Issues 1-2 (January-February 2009), a pseudo-mythology two-parter. Perhaps feeling some regret over the Lone Gunmen's deaths in Season 9, Spotnitz heavily features the trio as Mulder's helpers here. The maguffin is a flash drive that contains no information but is covered with a deadly chemical that can be absorbed through the skin. In a delicious bit of dialogue, Langly at one point tells Scully "We don't talk in front of The Man," referring to Skinner. It's a reminder that the Gunmen and Skinner didn't cross paths too often before his appearance in the "Gunmen" TV series (although they did team up to assist Mulder in "Fight the Future").
Spotnitz closes the story with a nicely pointed ending: Mulder succeeds in testifying before Congress about the deadly chemical, but rather than Congressmen rejecting this latest product of the military-industrial complex, they only become more enthusiastic about adding it to the military's war arsenal.
For whatever reason, Spotnitz dropped out of the series and Marv Wolfman took over for Issues 3-4. (Issue 4 claims this story takes place in 2009, but this is clearly a mistake, as – for one thing -- M&S work for the FBI, and there are no references to the events of the 2008 movie.) As is sometimes the case with writers who are new to the saga, Wolfman has a tendency to overstate the believer-skeptic dynamic rather than just telling the story.
It's a pretty good one, though, about a Chinese business mogul who seems to be a serial killer except that he has airtight alibis for all the killings. In classic "X-Files" fashion, the explanation is revealed somewhat offhandedly – completely identical human beings were created via an ancient "ceremony of simultaneously impregnation." I like the way Wolfman taps into Chinese cultural lore, something that was also done with creepy effectiveness in the Season 3 episode "Hell Money."
Doug Moench closes out the short-lived Wildstorm series with Issues 5-6, which reminded me a lot of the "Classic Star Wars" comics that were pasted together from newspaper strips. This is because of Moench's conceits of 1) having Mulder narrate his explorations of caves beneath the South Dakota badlands to Scully on a tape recorder, and 2) having all the characters regularly say the names of the people they are speaking to.
Denham's portrayal of the underground caverns adds a spooky vibe, but the story is the most standard of the Wildstorm batch. Also, the characters are the most off-point here. For example, Mulder is relatively calm despite being surrounded by fire, something that made him freeze because of a phobia back in Season 1's "Fire." Granted, subsequent episodes didn't do a great job of remembering Mulder's extreme fear of fire, but these issues ring particularly false.
In mid-2009, it seemed like "The X-Files" had petered out again. But a year later, Wildstorm still held the license, and the company made good use of it in a crossover with "30 Days of Night." More on that in my next "X-Files" flashback.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksWed, 09 Mar 2016 23:58:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/9/XFiles-flashback-Wildstorm-Comics-Issues-06-200809‘X-Files’ flashback: Topps Comics specials (1995-97) and Dark Horse ‘Lone Gunmen’ one-shot (2001)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/2/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-specials-199597-and-Dark-Horse-Lone-Gunmen-oneshot-2001
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The 41 regular issues of the <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/Comics" target="_blank">Topps "X-Files" comics</a> featured many Monster of the Month standalones, plus a handful of issues that felt like mythology episodes (mostly during the Stefan Petrucha run) and one Scully character piece ("N.D.E."). One notably missing style of "X-Files" story is the comedic piece. But the special issues – two annuals, three digests, one graphic novel and three weirdly numbered issues (Issue -1, Issue -2 and Issue ½), plus Dark Horse's "Lone Gunmen" one-shot – rectified this oversight, as several of these stories are whimsical in tone.
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Those that don't aim for chuckles tend to be deeper meditations than are found in the regular series. Essentially, the greater page count allows these stories to breathe more, making this batch of issues something that shouldn't be overlooked by fans.
My favorite of the bunch is "Hallow Eve" (Annual 1, 1995) by Petrucha. Rather than the Halloween story suggested by the title, it chronicles an archaeologist's supposed uncovering of the bones of "Eve," the original human. A ghost story incorporates a campus urban legend, a medium a la "The Conjuring," a "Scooby Doo" ending (which I'm not so fond of), a tragic villain and a touching reappearance of the ghost of Scully's dad.
Petrucha's "Dead to the World" (Digest 2, 1996) is about an eccentric and cocky villain who has figured out how to live forever by killing people and ingesting their adrenal glands. It's ironic to note that he has Scully in his clutches but does not realize that according to one interpretation of "X-Files" lore (see the episodes "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Tithonus"), she is destined to live forever herself.
"AfterFlight" (1997) rounds out a trilogy of long-form masterpieces by Petrucha. As a "graphic novel," this is the longest single-issue story published by Topps (slightly longer than an annual, which itself is double the length of a standard 24-page issue). As he touches upon the tragic nature of Alzheimer's, the author also tells a sweet and fun story about an old man who aims to get his father's ancient flying machine – which may, of course, have alien influence behind it -- up and running.
"Big Foot, Warm Heart" (Digest 1, 1995) is a comparative misfire from Petrucha. Rather than a true Sasquatch, the title character is just a mountain gorilla – a rare, but certainly not unheard of, animal. This tale is a direct riff on "The Most Dangerous Game," as an eccentric island-dwelling rich guy hunts rare animals and ultimately – of course – Mulder and Scully. I get a sense that Petrucha was somewhat rushed on this entry.
John Rozum's stories tend to be more straightforward than Petrucha's, but they're not without merit. "E.L.F.s" (Annual 2, 1996) is a character study of a doctor who believes his brain is being controlled by radio waves. With the right actor, this could've played as a classic tragi-comic episode. That tone works in comic form, too, as I chuckled at the way the doctor wallpapers his house with tinfoil (nicely rendered by Gordon Purcell) and insists on wearing tinfoil underwear.
Rozum's "Scape Goats" (Digest 3, 1996) is similar to "AfterFlight" in that a fairly standard family murder yarn is hijacked and given a spiritual dimension by the presence of an alien. In this case, the alien is known locally in Puerto Rico as a "chupacabras" (the "s" is not a pluralization). The similarly named El Chupacabra was also the monster in Season 4's "El Mundo Gira," which aired a few months after this digest was published.
While the graphic novel, annuals and digests are longer than standard comics, the three weirdly numbered issues are shorter than regular issues but still fun reads. Petrucha's "Tiptoe through the Tulpa" (Issue ½, a Wizard special, 1996) is the best of these, chronicling a woman who manipulates the apparition of her comatose son. Petrucha's "Trick of the Light" (Issue -1, 1996) and "The Pit" (the first part of Issue -2, 1996) are throwaway entries; there just aren't enough pages to do justice to an artist/kidnapper or a haunted mining tunnel. However, Rozum's "The Silent Sword" – making up the second part of Issue -2 – is a fun companion piece to "E.L.F.s," as it examines whether insanity comes from the inside or from outside forces.
One last comic from the period of "The X-Files' " original TV run bears mentioning: "The Lone Gunmen" one-shot, "Patriots" (2001, Dark Horse). It's penned by Jane Espenson – known for her work in the Joss Whedon-verse and the Amy Sherman-Palladino-verse -- in her only foray into the Chris Carter-verse. Helped by Paul Lee's art, Espenson nails the tone of the "X-Files" spinoff: Mildly slapsticky with bizarre touches of sci-fi, even as the trio (along with Jimmy and Yves) explores serious conspiracies against a naïve public. In an ironic twist that calls to mind the "Angel" episode "The Ring," where Angel rescues a bunch of evil demons from other evil-doers, the Gunmen save the U.S. government from a takeover by racist militants.
(I'm extra fond of this issue because my copy is signed by Langly actor Dean Haglund, who I met in the mid-2000s in Minnesota when he was on an improv comedy tour. I did a phone interview with him in advance of the tour stop, and – unable to resist the opportunity to ask all my fan-centric questions – probably kept him on the phone obnoxiously long. Later, he said his wife wondered if he was being interviewed by the New York Times. But, of course, a big media outlet would be more likely to conduct a two-minute interview with an ex-Lone Gunman than a two-hour session.)
"Patriots" is accompanied by an essay by Bob Harris about the threats to liberty and economic stability posed by a theoretical worldwide government, the U.S. surveillance state, corporatization and FEMA camps. It has been widely noted that "The X-Files" still felt very relevant when it returned for its recent six-episode miniseries, and if they were likewise resurrected, Byers, Langly and Frohike would certainly be kept busy tracking modern-day wrongdoings by people in power.
(That brings up the question of whether the Gunmen truly have been resurrected in the official canon. IDW's Season 10 comic – considered to be canonical until the TV show returned -- revealed that the trio faked their deaths in order to continue their work even further off the grid. While some assume the miniseries contradicted this when Mulder had visions of the Gunmen in a hallucination sequence, the miniseries didn't explicitly say the Gunmen were dead, or that Mulder thought they were dead.)
This wraps up my look at the original Topps (and one Dark Horse) comics from the first heyday of "The X-Files." (Completists will note that Topps also put out adaptations of nine Season One episodes and a four-issue adaptation of the novel "Ground Zero," plus an illustrated novel version of the first movie.) In future posts, I'll look at the Wildstorm Comics that popped up in conjunction with the 2008 movie "I Want to Believe," and the current IDW comics, which are part of the more robust "X-Files" resurgence of 2013 to present.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksWed, 02 Mar 2016 23:35:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/3/2/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-specials-199597-and-Dark-Horse-Lone-Gunmen-oneshot-2001‘X-Files’ flashback: Topps Comics Issues 37-41 (1998)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/29/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-3741-1998
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In a mystery worthy of an X-File itself, the <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/Comics" target="_blank">Topps "X-Files" comics series</a> abruptly ended in September 1998 with Issue 41, in the wake of the popular feature film, as Topps closed the comics wing of the company. Even the editor wasn't privy to this bombshell, as there's no mention of it in the last issue's letters column.
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The five issues from 1998 are the typical solid standalones we've come to expect from the title – four from John Rozum and one from editor Dwight Jon Zimmerman. His "Devil's Advocate" (Issue 40) puts him among a quartet to have penned an "X-Files" comic in the regular run, along with Rozum (22 issues), Stefan Petrucha (16 issues) and Kevin J. Anderson (two issues).
Although the mainstream entertainment media – and certainly the mainstream media in general – has an unwritten rule that tie-in materials aren't to be acknowledged, it's a testament to how huge "The X-Files" was in the summer of '98 that Issue 40 was mentioned in my hometown paper, the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, because it featured a story set in Devils Lake, N.D.
And it's a juicy one, as Zimmerman imagines the military is hiding nuclear weapons under the overflowing Devils Lake, thus breaking an international treaty. He notes that North Dakota – also featured in the Season 4 episode "Terma," where Krycek gets locked in a nuclear silo -- would be the world's fourth-largest nuclear power if it seceded from the union. As is often the case, Mulder and Scully know what's going on, but they leave the site without tangible proof, and thus the government is protected from its own snooping agents. The images of the dead trees in the lake are spot-on, as is the idea that the Army's work on dams to protect homes would distract the populace from the nuclear cache.
Rozum's most compelling entry from this batch is "Cam Rahn Bay" (38), in which weaponized dolphins from the Vietnam War are accidentally triggered by cellphone signals. While the things that humans do to other humans during war is horrifying, there's a particularly unique horror about the US Navy's Swimmer Nullification Program, which outfitted dolphins with spears to kill enemy soldiers and trained them to plant bombs on enemy vessels. I like that Mulder draws a parallel to the killer ravens from "Skybuster" (34).
"Scum of the Earth" (39) is another environmentally themed story, making it clear that this is a pet interest of Rozum's – although to his credit, he never gets preachy. In a takeoff on "Flubber," he invents "blobber," a bouncy play-dough-style toy that had to be recalled when it gave kids rashes. But the company had a hard time neatly disposing of the substance, and decades later it has taken on a life of its own in the Florida lowlands, killing sewer workers and people who are innocently taking a shower. It's like if "The Host" (from Season 2) had been an ooze rather than a creature. In another neat nod to continuity, the mad scientist villain from "Surrounded" (30-31) returns.
The other two issues are straight-ahead monster yarns. "Severed" (41) – appropriately titled considering that it marked the abrupt end of the series – is a werewolf tale with an "It Follows" spin: A werewolf can be cured if the werewolf that bit him is killed. And similar to "Buffy's" werewolf lore, established earlier in 1998, this werewolf has some control over his shapeshifting; it's not entirely dependent on lunar phases. Considering Rozum's generally good attention to continuity, it's surprising that neither Mulder nor Scully reference Season 1's "Shapes," which tread very close to being a werewolf story.
Issue 37, which for some reason is untitled, hews closely to Season 1's "The Jersey Devil." Whereas that classic episode explored the myth of feral humans living in the New Jersey woods, this issue taps into the Goatman myth of the Maryland woods. Although Scully theorizes that these are genetically abnormal humans, the mythology holds that they are a separate, sentient species that has managed to live on in the woods despite the rise of the human race. In a clever final-panel twist, the goatman aims not to save the last female of his species but rather to kill her so that no more of his race have to live in a world increasingly dominated by humans.
There are no doubt a few Rozum scripts out there that were axed due to the series' end. (Topps' other ongoing "X-Files" series, the adaptations of Season One episodes, left "The Jersey Devil" and "Ghost in the Machine" unreleased.) One of the unreleased yarns probably had something to do with crop circles, judging from an inaccurate synopsis of Issue 39 on an advertising page at the back of the comics; a few times over the course of the series, the order of the stories was changed after descriptions went out to advertisers. It would be cool if these unfinished Rozum stories could be uncovered someday by current license-holder IDW. I give a slight edge to the imaginative Petrucha among Topps "X-Files" scribes, but the reliable Rozum is runs a close second.
While this marks the end of the regular Topps series, I'll be back with a look at the specials, digests and annuals in an upcoming post.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksMon, 29 Feb 2016 17:06:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/29/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-3741-1998‘X-Files’ flashback: Topps Comics Issues 25-36 (1997)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/28/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-2536-1997
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//x-files-comic-27.jpg">
In 1997, "The X-Files" was at the height of its popularity, and excitement among the <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/Comics" target="_blank">Topps "X-Files" Comics</a> creators and fans is evidenced in the letters pages, which feature tidbits about awards, ratings and other accolades. With John Rozum's stories, though, there's a sense of playing it safe, as the series had long since decided to let Chris Carter's show take the lead while the comics provided supplemental adventures. In 1997, the end of Season 4 and the start of Season 5 featured Scully's cancer and Mulder's supposed suicide, but the comics mainly featured standalone monster-of-the-week (or -month, as it were) adventures.
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There are two notable exceptions, though, where Rozum (who, starting with Issue 30, is accompanied by the new – and just as competent as their predecessors -- penciling/inking team of Alex Saviuk and Rick Magyar) pushes the envelope. "Remote Control" (Issues 27-29) is a sweeping mythology three-parter about remote viewers who formerly worked for the US government and are now privately employed. One of them works for Libyan terrorists, who are using his skills to hijack a US military truck, which may or may not contain a flying saucer. For whatever reason, the comic series to this point hadn't made use of Deep Throat (who, granted, was killed off before the comics launched), Mr. X or Marita Covarrubius. Oddly, Mulder occasionally receives information from shadowy sources that neither he nor the reader knows – a dark-haired woman and a young black man were these sources on two previous occasions.
In "Remote Control," the comics step up their game by having Mulder consult with his one higher-up ally from the TV show, Senator Matheson. The senator is portrayed in shadows, but the letters column later confirms that this is Matheson. Unique to the comic, Matheson has an underling named Crockett who is sort of a good-guy equivalent of Krycek; he helps Mulder out of a jam, but won't allow him to see the alien craft, because then – as the cliché goes – he'd have to kill him. Crockett also has access to a utility belt based on alien technology that can make him invisible or project a bulletproof force field. In a tasty bit of accidental continuity, the recent "X-Files" TV miniseries showed that alien crafts can become invisible.
The other meaty story from this batch is "N.D.E." (35-36), which features a personal connection for Scully. The opening black-and-white panels show a flashback to the night before her meeting with Blevins (in 1992, the caption says, but didn't she meet Mulder and join the X-Files team in '93?). She's at a bar with her friends from the academy – who reference the fact that she dated Jack Willis, a tie-in to Season 1's "Lazarus" -- one of whom is going on an undercover mission. Fast-forward to present day and Mulder and Scully are investigating an X-File associated with the mob boss who had killed Scully's friend. "N.D.E." also nicely incorporates Scully's religious beliefs, as the mob boss believes from the visions of his near-death experience that he is doomed to hell. The reader also sees that Scully's friend has gone to heaven – and so does the mob boss in the final panel – making this a daringly blunt statement for an "X-Files" yarn.
The other '97 issues are somewhat formulaic: Rozum shows us a bizarre death(s), gives us a historical or legendary or scientific theory that could explain it, and then sees the story through to its end, with M&S not able to definitely close the case but with readers getting a hint as to what happened. These issues are fun reads, though, and could play as episodes of the TV series, albeit lesser entries.
"Be Prepared" (25-26) is similar to Season 3's "Quagmire" in that Mulder surmises a supernatural answer (a Wendigo killing campers in the snowy Montana woods), but the actual answer is from the real world (a bear driven mad by a trap clamped to its leg). But the final panel shows a Wendigo, just as the final shot of "Quagmire" shows Big Blue.
This is the first of two yarns where Rozum gets almost-but-not-quite heavy-handed with an environmental message. The other is the best stand-alone issue of this batch: "Skybuster" (34), which continues the trend of strong "X-Files" stories set in Alaska. It opens with a classic image of a victim being carried off by a flock of ravens, which is either being driven mad by local atmospheric research tests or acting in defense of Mother Earth against humans. (Of course, as Homer Simpson would point out, a flock of ravens is known as a "murder," and frankly it's kind of surprising that Mulder doesn't make this observation too.) The idea of Earth being a living organism upon which humans are a parasite is intriguing, even if it doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
"Surrounded" (30-31) is a bit clunky. Rozum does a timely riff on the early '90s events at Ruby Ridge and Waco where the US government killed citizens trying to live off the grid, and the story gains relevance again in 2016, especially as it is set in Oregon, site of the standoff between the government and protestors who believe it has too much control over Western lands. The downside of "Surrounded" is that Rozum doesn't make it clear why this remote house is under siege by the FBI – it's suggested that a resident scientist has published some writings that catch the feds' attention, but it's a bit vague. The upside is that the idea of killer dust mites is brilliant, and it plays better in comics than it could on TV. (The skinned victims presage the 1999 novel "Skin").
"Crop Duster" (32) is about a man who sees gremlins, reminiscent of "Twilight Zone: The Movie." And rounding out this batch, "Soma" (33) chronicles widowed Indian women who seem to spontaneously combust while their surroundings remain untouched (again, we get a parallel to a novel, in this case "Ground Zero"). Rozum gets creative with historical spiritual beliefs, as "Soma" is based on a ritual whereby a widow must burn herself alive along with her husband's corpse so they may enjoy the afterlife together.
"The X-Files" comic might not have been quite as good as the parent show in 1997, but it certainly does not embarrass itself under the steady guidance of Rozum and the artists. The title did the yeoman's work of tiding fans over between episodes.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksSun, 28 Feb 2016 22:23:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/28/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-2536-1997‘X-Files’ flashback: Topps Comics Issues 13-24 (1996)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/26/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-1324-1996
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//x-files-17.jpg">
The first dozen issues of the <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/Comics" target="_blank">Topps "X-Files" Comics</a> featured Stefan Petrucha's conspirators-within-the-conspiracy, the Aquarius group. But at the same time, the TV show's mythology was becoming more complicated. Perhaps in response, the Topps writers – Petrucha in Issues 13-16, John Rozum in 17-19 and 22-24 and Kevin J. Anderson in 20-21 -- decided to tone down the comics' mythology and focus on stand-alone stories in 1996 (which corresponded with the end of Season 3 and the start of Season 4 on TV).
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The last mention related to the Aquarius mythology comes early in this batch when Mulder references the Neola, Kan., UFO crash (as explored back in Issue 2). Still, in his final four issues, Petrucha does feature UFOs (a.k.a. "fallen angels," a term from the Season 1 episode "Fallen Angel") in three of them. He doesn't directly tie his stories into the mythology, but he does close out "Home of the Brave" (15-16) with a military man telling Mulder and Scully "This was a need-to-know operation, agents, and you don't need to know this." His soldiers secure the scene of the sighting of the UFO, which Scully thinks could be "an experimental jet."
Petrucha's final three issues are thematically heavy-handed. "Falling" (14) is a "Lord of the Flies" riff wherein a kid – who reminds me of the boy born without a soul in the "Angel" Season 1 episode "I've Got You Under My Skin" – kills his friends and nearly kills a burn-scarred Mulder, who he believes is an alien. The final panel showing soldiers suggests that this boy learned his behavior from adult examples. "Home of the Brave" then follows up with horribly clichéd survivalists who come across a UFO.
But "One Player Only" (13) shows how a clichéd topic – in this case, the idea that people who play (or program) video games can become detached from reality and commit real violence – can be given a fresh spin. Rather than a computer gaining human-style sentience (as explored in Season 1's "Ghost in the Machine" and Season 7's "First Person Shooter," and most famously in "2001: A Space Odyssey"), here a man's brain is taken over by the computer.
When Petrucha moved on to other projects, Rozum took over and the quality of the writing remained fairly high. Likewise, the art by Gordon Purcell is an even match for that of Charles Adlard (who isn't quite done with "The X-Files," although Purcell handles Rozum's lead-off issue). Purcell's likenesses are more picture-perfect, but the crispness sacrifices the mood slightly.
"Thin Air" (17) is a meaty debut from Rozum, about a World War II pilot who disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle and reappears unaged a half-century later (the "reappearing unaged" idea was later explored in Season 8's "Invocation"). In a rare nod to the mythology from Rozum, the Cigarette-Smoking Man appears on the final panel in an unknown location with all of the missing pilots. As with a lot of "X-Files" yarns – especially as the series went forward -- we don't get a clear solution to this mystery, but Mulder's theory is a good one: He thinks the conspirators released the pilot to the public along with a purposely shoddy cover-up. That way, any future people who claim to have reappeared from the past won't be believed. (The idea that the alien mythology is a smokescreen to distract Mulder would later be famously explored in the "Gethsemane" trilogy that bridged Seasons 4 and 5. Of course, that "smokescreen" turned out to be a smokescreen – there really was an alien-government conspiracy.)
The two-parter "Night Lights" (18-19), on the other hand, is a clunker. Mulder, Scully and a scientist theorize endlessly about ball lightning even as we the readers have already figured out that, yes, a sentient ball of lighting did indeed murder a group of scientists.
Rozum more effectively plays out the mystery in his last three issues of '96. "The Kanashibari" (22), a rare case that brings the agents to Hawaii, touches upon the myth of an incubus- or succubus-style ghost that literally scares people to death. The grisly "Donor" (23) finds an organ donor coming back from the dead to take back his organs. This is one of those "X-Files" that veers completely off the track of making any kind of sense, but it's still entertaining. And "Silver Lining" (24) is a "Picture of Dorian Gray" riff, with the mirror in the lining of a trenchcoat for some reason.
Considering how good his first two "X-Files" novels ("Ground Zero" and "Ruins") were, I had high hopes for Anderson's "Family Portrait" (20-21), but like "Night Lights," the answer to the mystery is obvious from the beginning: A weird camera doesn't just capture people's images, but also a piece of their essence, thus aging (and ultimately killing) them. Both "Family Portrait" and "Silver Lining" call to mind Season 2's "Dod Kalm," wherein Mulder and Scully prematurely age, although only in "Silver Lining" do the agents make reference to that previous case.
It's inevitable that as a franchise grows, there will be more repeats of story ideas. But through two years of the comic title, there's no sense of burnout, despite a few issues that misfire. Rozum isn't as much of a meticulous researcher as Petrucha, but he enthusiastically explores sci-fi and paranormal concepts. While he resists connections to the wider mythology, he's still willing to put the agents through their paces with yarns that could be storyboards for monster-of-the-week TV episodes that never came to be.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksFri, 26 Feb 2016 00:27:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/26/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-1324-1996‘X-Files’ flashback: Topps Comics Issues 1-12 (1995)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/20/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-112-1995
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//X-Files-Issue-1.JPG">
"The X-Files" has only produced six original novels and one short-story collection to date, but it has enjoyed a more robust life in the realm of comics, starting with a 41-issue (and plenty of specials) run with <a href="http://x-files.wikia.com/wiki/Comics" target="_blank">Topps Comics</a> from 1995-98. At first blush, this is odd, because it seems like a show dependent on mood and nuances would play better in books than comics. But as Topps' Issues 1-12 (1995) demonstrate, Chris Carter's program translates better to the four-color art form, at least under the guidance of writer Stefan Petrucha.
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On his "X-Files Files" podcast, Kumail Nanjiani noted that he has been reading the Topps comics (as recently reprinted by IDW) and found them to be a fascinating alternate timeline, with a different conspiracy than is found on the series proper. This is a fair assessment, but I'm the type who likes to fit all stories in a franchise into one continuity if possible. Certainly, it's safe to say that Petrucha didn't feel he was creating an alternate "X-Files." He references events from the show regularly – Mulder accesses memories of his sister's abduction and Mrs. Scully reminds her amnesiac daughter about her father's death a year earlier in Season 1's "Beyond the Sea." (These 12 issues take place in real time, parallel to the end of Season 2 and the start of Season 3.)
By the end of these dozen issues, the implication is clear that Petrucha's sinister cabal (or "inner government," as he often calls it) – known as Aquarius -- is a subgroup of the TV show's Syndicate. Aquarius -- led by General Schadenfreude and featuring agents known as Blue, Black, Grey and so forth, like in "Reservoir Dogs" – is more overtly aggressive than the Syndicate proper, showing up at nearly every one of the cases Mulder and Scully investigate. Aquarius often wants to acquire the same artifact Mulder is after, and the group has no problem with the idea of killing the agents.
In Issues 4-6 (the "Firebird" trilogy – "Khobka's Lament," "Crescit Eundo" and "A Brief Authority"), the Aquarius agents are particularly ubiquitous, which raises the question of how they can likewise remain so secret. A liberal policy of killing people who learn about them – or using memory-erasing gas, as in the Kansas UFO incident -- could explain some of it, but the problem with big conspiracies is you need both a large group and a loyal group; as such, Aquarius has less verisimilitude than the wider Syndicate.
Despite the slight misstep of having Aquarius be too in-your-face, these comics are better than I remember, and more consistently good than IDW's current run (although I'll give those another chance on a re-read, too). Petrucha is a rabid researcher who provides a works cited list on each issue's letters page. His artifacts are suitably compelling, starting with the Fatima Prophecy in Issue 1 ("Don't Open Until X-Mas"), which is sort of a Pandora's Box – it features answers to life's mysteries so profound that supposedly no human is prepared to read it. In a scene that serves as a tidy metaphor for "The X-Files" as a whole, Mulder has his hands on the parchment on the final panel, only to be surrounded by gun-toting Aquarius members, who take it from him.
The ultimate artifact of the opening 12 issues is a crystal skull (like in the fourth "Indiana Jones" movie) that perhaps allows communication with an alien race that perhaps served as mentors to the Aztecs. I found the denouement in Issue 12 ("Nightmare of History," wrapping up the "Feelings of Unreality" trilogy) confusing, but on the other hand, I loved the opening sequence wherein Mulder takes down the conspirators in a court of law. It builds up to the revelation of his key exhibit, "the body of an alien-human hybrid!" It's all a dream, but Petrucha and artist Charles Adlard earn the trickery with their (in retrospect) unlikely touches such as the Cigarette-Smoking Man puffing away at the defendants' table and the Lone Gunmen being seated in the audience. The revelation is the ultimate clue that it's all a dream, as the comics hadn't explored alien-human hybrids like the parent show had.
I had remembered that a lot of the Topps Comics stories felt truncated compared to the show, but that's not the case, at least not in this 1995 batch. Sometimes, Petrucha fits a fully formed story into one issue (Issue 1, for example); other times it takes more issues. Issues 2 and 3, "A Dismembrance of Things Past" and "A Little Dream of Me," feel like a mythology two-parter wherein M&S visit a Kansas town that was essentially a second Roswell and end up with their memories partially wiped. Generally, one issue feels like one TV episode in these Topps comics, a formula that can't be relied upon with the new IDW comics, where each issue generally contains less story.
The comics arguably get darker than the TV series ever did in Issues 8 and 9 ("Silent Cities of the Mind, Parts 1 and 2"), about a cannibal who acquires the knowledge of the people he eats. Petrucha's ability to get creative with history is in fine form here, as he imagines that the Aztecs came across the land bridge from Asia, but didn't go directly to Mexico. Instead, some of them settled in Alaska. Along with Season 1's "Ice" and Wildstorm's "X-Files"/"30 Days of Night" crossover, the Last Frontier is a reliably foreboding setting for a great X-File.
In addition to being daring with his set-pieces (an abandoned ancient underground city in Alaska, for example), Petrucha – whose work is accented by Adlard, who draws excellent Mulder and Scully likenesses without sacrificing the mood – dares to put the characters through their paces. Issue 7 ("Trepanning Opera") is particularly tasty, as it chronicles a rogue FBI agent who believes he can see the future through a "third eye" in the middle of his forehead. Tapping into Philip K. Dickian ideas about the nature of reality, the story suggests that although it seems Scully survives at the end, she "may only be imagining that (she) survived." The "Scanner Darkly"-style yarn becomes extra intriguing given the TV show's controversial but fascinating mythology element that Scully might be destined to live forever (as per "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Tithonus").
Whether the Topps comics are truly part of the "X-Files" mythos or merely a side trip of "what ifs?" is a fair question, and I suspect most fans would say they are not part of the true canon. Nonetheless, they are undeniably intriguing yarns, and at this point in my re-read, I recommend them to fans of the show.
X-Files/MillenniumComic booksSat, 20 Feb 2016 00:59:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/2/20/XFiles-flashback-Topps-Comics-Issues-112-1995The 20 best female ‘Star Wars’ villains before Captain Phasmahttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/1/18/Top-15-female-Star-Wars-villains-before-Captain-Phasma
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Mara-Jade1.JPG">
I established in my last post that <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Phasma" target="_blank">Captain Phasma,</a> despite Disney's hype, is not the first female "Star Wars" villain, no matter how many qualifiers you load onto that statement. Some might argue that she will someday emerge as the best female "Star Wars" villain, though. Time will tell, but Phasma certainly has a high bar to clear. While this list is far from comprehensive, as there were probably at least 100 female villains in "Star Wars" lore before J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan invented Phasma, here are my choices for the 20 best female "Star Wars" villains to date:
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1. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mara_Jade_Skywalker" target="_blank">Mara Jade</a> (pictured above) (first appearance: "Heir to the Empire," 1991) – In the 1990s, when the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe was not half as big as it would eventually become, Star Wars Galaxy Magazine polled fans about their favorite characters. Nineteen of the top 20 were movie characters; the 20th was not Grand Admiral Thrawn or Talon Karrde or Joruus C'baoth – it was Mara Jade. If anything, she's become more popular since then. When we first meet her, Mara wants to kill Luke, as per her brainwashing by Palpatine; she overcomes that, and eventually marries Luke. However, we also got lots of pre-"Heir" stories when she was the Emperor's Hand. As written by Timothy Zahn, Mara may have been a relatively noble Imperial (her enemies are often corrupt Imperial officials), but anyone who does the bidding of Palpatine is unquestionably a villain. The way she morally justifies her role in the galactic government makes her a fascinating one.
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2. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Asajj_Ventress/Legends" target="_blank">Asajj Ventress</a> (first appearance: "Jedi: Mace Windu," 2003) – Asajj ended up being the first iconic female villain of canonical "Star Wars" materials (those that are part of Disney's continuity), but she was invented in the Expanded Universe. After making a stylish splash in the animated shorts, Ventress gains layers in the "Republic" comics and the "Clone Wars" TV series. Despite having a muddled backstory and three different fates (the animated shorts, the comics and "The Clone Wars"), Ventress (given a gravelly, mesmerizing voice by Nika Futterman) is always effective either as an icon of evil or as a spurned dark-sider seeking revenge on Dooku and teaming up with the Jedi.
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3. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Aurra_Sing/Legends" target="_blank">Aurra Sing</a> (first appearance: "The Phantom Menace," 1999) – Given a second or two of screen time in "Episode I" just for giggles, Aurra Sing quickly became a full-fledged character in the "Republic" comics: Specifically as a stone-cold killer who hunts bounties for cash and kills Jedi for fun. Her evilness is blunted a bit in "The Clone Wars," where she serves as an early mentor of Boba Fett, but voice actress Jamie King still gives her a twisted sense of dark humor.
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4. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lumiya" target="_blank">Shira Brie/Lumiya</a> (first appearance, Marvel Issue 56, "Coffin in the Clouds," 1981) – In addition to being the first great female "Star Wars" villain, Shira is also the first love interest for Luke and one of the first breakout non-film characters. Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith, stayed in the consciousness of the fanbase to such a degree that Del Rey brought her back for the "Legacy of the Force" books in the 2000s. It's possible that Timothy Zahn's Mara Jade was inspired by Shira, although they ended up forging different paths. Lumiya's somewhat-mechanical suit followed in the footsteps of Vader, but her lightwhip is an entirely original invention.
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5. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Vestara_Khai" target="_blank">Vestara Khai</a> (first appearance: "Fate of the Jedi: Omen," 2009) – Ben Skywalker's desire to bring this cute Sith girl (literally, Vestara is raised among the Lost Tribe of the Sith) to the light side was the best of the dangling arcs coming out of "Fate of the Jedi," as it combined a first-love story with iconic Force mythology.
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6. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ysanne_Isard" target="_blank">Ysanne Isard</a> (first appearance: "X-wing: Rogue Squadron," 1996) – Nicknamed "Iceheart" by both allies and enemies, Michael Stackpole's principle "X-wing" villain is the non-Force-sensitive answer to Palpatine. Isard uses every trick in the book to rise to political power and then maintain it.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Darth_Zannah.jpg">
7. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darth_Zannah" target="_blank">Rain/Darth Zannah</a> (first appearance: "Jedi vs. Sith," 2001) – Between the "Jedi vs. Sith" comics and the "Darth Bane" book trilogy, we get a moving look at how an empathic kid can drift toward the dark side. In a final twist, it seems her master, Darth Bane, may have taken over her body. (However, author Drew Karpyshyn has said that interpretation is not what he intended.)
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Alema-Rar.jpg">
8. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Alema_Rar" target="_blank">Alema Rar</a> (first appearance: "The New Jedi Order: Star by Star," 2002) – The best creation from the inconsistent pen of Troy Denning, Alema deals with the death of her sister amid the dark time of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Always on the precipice of the dark side, this sexy Twi'lek goes full baddie under the influence of Lumiya in "Fate of the Jedi."
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Guri.JPG">
9. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Guri" target="_blank">Guri</a> (first appearance: "Shadows of the Empire," 1996) – Although she looks and acts completely human, Prince Xizor's bodyguard is actually a human replica droid. As such, she is an outlet to explore the classic sci-fi idea of whether sentience requires an organic body. The last time we saw her, she embarks on her quest to be human, sharing a drink with Dash Rendar.
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10. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Vergere" target="_blank">Vergere</a> (first appearance: "Rogue Planet," 2000) – In a nutshell, this member of the birdlike Fosh species is the dark side's answer to Yoda. Until she becomes Jacen's mentor in "Traitor," her appearances are tinged with mystery about her loyalty, as she lives and works with the Yuuzhan Vong yet also provides healing tears that cure Mara's disease.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Admiral-Daala.jpg">
11. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Admiral_Daala" target="_blank">Admiral Daala</a> (first appearance: "Jedi Search," 1994) – The one-time mistress of Grand Moff Tarkin, who uses that connection to work her way through the Imperial ranks, is not on this list for her portrayal in the "Jedi Academy Trilogy," where she is cartoonish. Rather, Daala becomes a fascinating window into U.S. politics in "Legacy of the Force," when she is democratically elected as president of the Galactic Alliance despite her history of war crimes.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Leonia-Tavira.jpg">
12. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Leonia_Tavira" target="_blank">Leonia Tavira</a> (first appearance: "X-wing Rogue Squadron: The Warrior Princess," 1996) – Again, Stackpole delivers a great sociopathic female villain, but unlike Isard, who masters the political game, Tavira's arena is the looser military structure of the post-Palpatine Empire. Her combination of physical cuteness and ruthless evil makes for a fascinating dichotomy and her motto – "I never apologize" – is deliciously villainous.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Viqi-Shesh.jpg">
13. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Viqi_Shesh" target="_blank">Viqi Shesh</a> (first appearance: "The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide I: Onslaught," 2000) – This self-serving Kuati senator is the primary traitor to the home galaxy when the Yuuzhan Vong come knocking. Once she's stuck behind Vong lines, she becomes somewhat sympathetic as she finds herself with no friends or allies.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Darth-Talon.jpg">
14. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darth_Talon" target="_blank">Darth Talon</a> (first appearance: "Legacy," 2006) – Although her design as a scantily clad Twi'lek with Sith tattoos seems like fan service on the surface, it is fascinating to see how she uses a combination of Force skills and sex appeal to manipulate Cade Skywalker (and also how he uses her right back).
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Mother-Talzin.jpg">
15. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Talzin/Legends" target="_blank">Mother Talzin</a> (first appearance: "The Clone Wars" Season 3, 2011) – Mother Talzin, leader of the Dathomiri Nightsisters, is the embodiment of an unusual branch of magic in the "Star Wars" universe, wherein she steals and uses Force powers without possessing Force abilities herself.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Gara-Petothel.jpg">
16. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gara_Petothel" target="_blank">Gara Petothel</a> (first appearance: "X-wing: Wraith Squadron," 1998) – Alternately known as Lara Notsil and Kirney Slane, Gara has one of the best redemption arcs of the EU, as she is inspired by the good people around her – and her relationship with fellow troubled pilot Myn Donos -- to abandon her undercover mission for the Empire and join the side of good.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Taa-Chume.jpg">
17. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ta'a_Chume" target="_blank">Ta'a Chume</a> (first appearance: "The Courtship of Princess Leia," 1994) – The duplicitous Queen Mother knows how to play the power game in the matriarchal Hapes Cluster. She fails to get Princess Leia and Jaina Solo to marry her son, Isolder, but ultimately gets her granddaughter, Tenel Ka, to assume the throne, thus maintaining her own place of power.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Barriss-Offee.jpg">
18. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Barriss_Offee/Legends" target="_blank">Barriss Offee</a> (first appearance: "The Approaching Storm," 2002) – Luminara's Padawan is one of the odder entries on this list, because for most of her arc, she is unambiguously a good guy. Then in a twist at the end of Season 5 of "The Clone Wars," we learn that she is the culprit behind the bombing and the framing of Ahsoka. Her fallen-Jedi arc demands to be continued at some point, and it theoretically could be in "Rebels."
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Maris-Brood.jpg">
19. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Maris_Brood" target="_blank">Maris Brood</a> (first appearance: "The Force Unleashed," 2008) – Influenced by the dark-side energies of Felucia, the planet on which she was trapped, Shaak Ti's apprentice is a compelling almost-villain whose arc was unfortunately not picked up in the sequel.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Morag1.jpg">
20. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Morag" target="_blank">Morag</a> (first appearance: "Ewoks" Season 1, 1985) – This Endor-based Tulgah witch is an effectively frightening villain for young viewers as she hangs out in a creepy cave and is always accompanied by bad weather. Her rivalry with Logray, the Ewok shaman, plays out like a kids' version of a light-side-vs.-dark-side battle.
Who are your favorite female "Star Wars" villains? Share your lists in the comment thread below.
MoviesBooksStar WarsTelevisionStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 18 Jan 2016 17:58:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/1/18/Top-15-female-Star-Wars-villains-before-Captain-Phasma10 ‘first’ female ‘Star Wars’ villains before Captain Phasmahttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/1/18/10-first-female-Star-Wars-villains-before-Captain-Phasma
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Jolli.jpg">
Do a quick Google search for "first female 'Star Wars' villain," and almost all the references are to <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Phasma" target="_blank">Captain Phasma</a> from "Episode VII: The Force Awakens." This is because actress Gwendoline Christie referred to her character – a member of the movie's villainous First Order – in this way throughout the press junkets. It's unclear if she was honestly mistaken or if she was repeating what Disney told her (or both), but it's clear that Disney never bothered to correct her. All of the mainstream media repeated the description, unquestioningly.
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For longtime "Star Wars" fans, the Phasma debacle is a prime example of how a lie can become "truth" if pushed by propaganda and unchallenged by lazy media. But it also raises an interesting question: Who really is the first female "Star Wars" villain? It depends on what qualifiers we use. Yet it's clear at a casual glance that at least 10 characters can stake the claim to "first female 'Star Wars' villain" more so than Captain Phasma can. Here's a closer look at the candidates:
1. First female "Star Wars" villain in any media: <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jolli" target="_blank">Jolli</a> (pictured above), Marvel Issue 7 ("New Planets, New Perils!"), October 1977 on-sale date -- To determine the first female villain to appear in any "Star Wars" fiction, we have to go through the earliest releases. The 1977 film didn't feature any female villains. In October 1977, the first spin-off fiction appeared: Marvel Issue 7 (following the six-issue movie adaptation) and Pizzazz Issue 1 (featuring a serialized "Star Wars" comic). The latter doesn't feature any female villains. But Marvel Issue 7 does: Jolli, a member of Crimson Jack's pirate team, pulls a gun on Han and Chewie just five pages into the story. Jolli's primary trait – an inexplicable hatred of men – is shallow, but she does undergo somewhat of an arc in Issues 11-15 as she realizes she hates her boss just as much as she hates other men. Created by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin, and given more characterization by Archie Goodwin, Jolli is not a particularly great character, but she is – strictly speaking -- the first female "Star Wars" villain, beating Phasma by 38 years.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Thalassa-Tarkin.jpg">
2. First female "Star Wars" villain associated with the Empire: <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Thalassa_Tarkin" target="_blank">Thalassa Tarkin,</a> Russ Manning's newspaper strips, November 1979 – One thing that Captain Phasma has on Jolli is that she's a member of the Empire (or technically, the First Order, which seems to have spun off from the Empire). That raises the question: "Who was the first female Imperial?" Before we get to that, though, in late 1979 we were introduced to a couple of female villains who were associated with the Empire but not strictly members of the Empire. Thalassa Tarkin, widow of Grand Moff Tarkin, harasses our heroes in Russ Manning's newspaper strip, "Princess Leia, Imperial Servant," in November 1979, slightly before Domina Tagge is introduced in Marvel Issue 35 ("Dark Lord's Gambit," February 1980 on-sale date). The House of Tagge is a corporation in bed with the Empire but not strictly part of the Empire.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Zeta-Traal.jpg">
3. First female "Star Wars" villain directly employed by the Empire: <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Zeta_Traal" target="_blank">Captain Zeta Traal,</a> Marvel Issue 49 ("The Last Jedi"), April 1981 on-sale date – "The Empire Strikes Back" didn't feature any female Imperials, nor did the first four Expanded Universe novels ("Splinter of the Mind's Eye" and the "Han Solo Adventures" trilogy), nor did Russ Manning's newspaper strips or the first Goodwin/Williamson newspaper strip. Marvel finally came through by introducing Captain Zeta Traal, an Imperial officer in the classic self-serving, power-hungry mold. This issue marks Traal's only appearance, though.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Shira-Brie.jpg">
4. First female "Star Wars" villain to have a substantial character arc: <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lumiya" target="_blank">Shira Brie/Lumiya,</a> Marvel Issue 56 ("Coffin in the Clouds"), November 1981 on-sale date – When we first meet her, Shira appears to be a Rebel who has a thing for Luke. But it turns out she is actually a loyal servant of the Empire – and specifically Darth Vader – who has infiltrated the Rebellion and plotted to discredit Luke. Shira – who later re-emerges as Lumiya, Dark Lady of the Sith, in both the Marvel comics and the "Legacy of the Force" novels -- is the first female "Star Wars" villain to have a Wookieepedia entry that can't be absorbed at a mere glance.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//EV-9D9.jpg">
5. First female "Star Wars" villain in a movie: <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/EV-9D9/Legends" target="_blank">EV-9D9,</a> "Return of the Jedi," May 1983 – By the time the third movie rolled around, "Star Wars" finally delivered a big-screen female villain -- sort of. EV-9D9 is a droid with female programming. Although voiced by director Richard Marquand, it seems she was always intended to be female, as James Kahn's novelization describes her as such. Yeardley Smith (Lisa on "The Simpsons") voiced EV-9D9 in the 1996 radio drama and she is again portrayed as female in "Tales from Jabba's Palace." Granted, this is a sketchy entry, because someone could legitimately claim that droids aren't "male" or "female," they are machines. It's not much more legitimate than determining that the Rancor is a female and declaring that to by the first female screen villain. Admittedly, we can do better (and we will).
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Morag.jpg">
6. First female "Star Wars" villain performed by an actress: <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Morag" target="_blank">Morag,</a> "Ewoks," September 1985 – The first "Ewoks" movie, 1984's "Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure," didn't feature a female villain, but the "Ewoks" cartoon featured one in its first episode, "The Cries of the Trees." Morag, a longtime enemy of Logray, is in fact the major villain of the show's first season. Morag is voiced by Jackie Burroughs in each of her four appearances, making her the first actress in any medium to play a "Star Wars" villain.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Charal.jpg">
7. First female "Star Wars" villain in a movie (who isn't a droid): <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Charal" target="_blank">Charal,</a> "Ewoks: The Battle for Endor," November 1985 – Finally, Charal, the second-in-command to Marauder leader Terak, is the first unambiguously female villain in a live-action role. Charal was later retconned to be a Nightsister, just like "The Clone Wars" villains Asajj Ventress and Mother Talzin. Sian Phillips plays Charal, so she has a clear claim to being the first female villain in a "Star Wars" movie, beating Christie by more than three decades.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Aurra-Sing1.jpg">
8. First female "Star Wars" villain in an episodic movie (the ones with roman numerals in the title) (who isn't a droid): <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Aurra_Sing/Legends" target="_blank">Aurra Sing,</a> "Episode I: The Phantom Menace," May 1999 – Aurra Sing makes a brief cameo, watching the podrace through binoculars. There's no indication in the movie itself that she's a villain, but she was always intended to be one, as she was first sketched as "Babe Fett" by Lucasfilm's Doug Chiang. The "Republic" comics soon delved into her villainy, later followed by "The Clone Wars." In the movie, Aurra was played by Michonne Bourriague, who can legitimately claim to be the first female villain in an episodic "Star Wars" film, beating Christie by 16 years. Jamie King then voiced the character in "The Clone Wars" TV series.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Zam-Wesell1.jpg">
9. First female "Star Wars" villain in an episodic movie (the ones with roman numerals in the title) (who isn't a droid) (and who is clearly portrayed as a villain): <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Zam_Wesell/Legends" target="_blank">Zam Wesell,</a> "Episode II: Attack of the Clones," May 2002 – While Aurra Sing doesn't have an on-screen villainous arc, Zam Wesell certainly does, as she tries to kill Padme, then leads Anakin and Obi-Wan on a chase around the skylanes of Coruscant before being killed by rival bounty hunter Jango Fett. Although Zam is a changeling, and not human, she is consistently portrayed as female and usually prefers her human form. Leeanna Walsman plays Zam, and she has a good claim to being the first female villain in an episodic "Star Wars" film to have a substantial arc. Indeed, her arc is at least of equal significance to that of Captain Phasma. Really, the only difference between the two characters' significance is that Phasma was hyped up in press junkets, whereas Zam was not. Still, Walsman beat Christie to a role as a "Star Wars" villain by 13 years.
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//Asajj-Ventress1.jpg">
10. First female "Star Wars" villain in canonical Disney materials to have a substantial character arc: <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Asajj_Ventress/Legends" target="_blank">Asajj Ventress,</a> "The Clone Wars," August 2008 – While Disney declared most non-episodic-movie materials non-canon in 2014, "The Clone Wars" TV series (and its introductory movie) did make the cut. As such, Nika Futterman's turn as Dathomiri Nightsister Asajj Ventress – apprentice of Dooku, enemy of Obi-Wan, and ultimately an ally-by-circumstance of the Jedi – is the most significant canonical arc for a female villain, beating out Aurra Sing (who has a lesser role in the series) and blowing away Zam Wesell and (so far) Captain Phasma.
Clearly, Christie's and Disney's repeated claim that Captain Phasma is the first female "Star Wars" villain is false, and it remains false even when several qualifiers are added. If Phasma returns in "Episode VIII" – and one has to assume she will, given the amount of hype for a character with a relatively small role in "The Force Awakens" – then Christie will be able to make a legitimate claim: Phasma will be the first female "Star Wars" villain to appear in multiple films. But until then, I think she should show a little more respect to Walsman, Phillips, Burroughs, Futterman, King, Bourriague and all the other performers, writers and artists who paved the way for the so-called "first" female "Star Wars" villain.
MoviesBooksStar WarsTelevisionStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 18 Jan 2016 02:16:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/1/18/10-first-female-Star-Wars-villains-before-Captain-Phasma‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost’ (2011-12)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/11/7/Star-Wars-flashback-Crimson-Empire-III-Empire-Lost-201112
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A decade after the first two installments of "Crimson Empire" in both real time and on the "Star Wars" timeline, the six-issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Crimson_Empire_III:_Empire_Lost" target="_blank">"Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost"</a> (2011-12) was finally released, and it was almost certainly different from the version that would have existed had it been released right after "Crimson Empire II."
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While one might assume the adjustments came because of new additions to the "Star Wars" timeline, it seems more like writers Randy Stradley and Mike Richardson simply changed their mind about the motivations of their main character, the former Emperor's Royal Guard Kir Kanos.
According to <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Crimson_Empire" target="_blank">Wookieepedia's entry on "Crimson Empire,"</a> the saga's concept came from a Stradley pitch for the original Marvel "Star Wars" comic series that was rejected by Lucasfilm: After "Return of the Jedi," a handful of Royal Guards would seek vengeance on Luke.
In the late 1990s, Lucasfilm became open to the idea of exploring the crimson guards, so Stradley and Richardson then imagined a single guard, Kanos, seeking vengeance on three entities over the course of a trilogy: First, Carnor Jax, who had destroyed the last of Palpatine's clones; this was "Crimson Empire I." Second, those who claimed Palpatine's throne, the Council of Moffs; this was "Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood." And third, Luke Skywalker, who Kanos believed murdered Palpatine on Death Star II; this was to be "Crimson Empire III."
But as it turned out, "Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost" finds Kanos taking on Ennix Devian, a former hitman for Palpatine. Despite this intriguing backstory, don't bother looking for him in other stories; he only appears in "Crimson Empire III." Devian is essentially a new Carnor Jax: He claims to lead a Restored Empire, and Kanos wants to kill him for that.
According to Wookieepedia, new additions to the timeline in the 2000s inspired Stradley and Richardson to move away from the "Kanos versus Luke" pitch, but that doesn't totally jibe. Kanos taking on Luke would've been a more fitting end to the "Crimson Empire" trilogy, as we would've seen Kanos increasingly biting off more than he could chew, possibly learning a lesson about how vengeance had blinded him. From an artistic standpoint (a hallmark of the whole "Crimson Empire" saga, with penciller Paul Gulacy and colorist Michael Bartolo handling this final chapter), we would've seen epic panels of Luke taking on a Royal Guard in combat.
The fact that Kanos works with the good guys gives a hint as to why Stradley abandoned his original idea: He decided that Kanos had changed his mind about vengeance on Luke (Kanos openly swore vengeance on Luke earlier in the saga). During his decade in the guise of bounty hunter Kenix Kil, Kanos seems to have gradually realized that Palpatine's Empire wasn't as wonderful as he thought and the New Republic – and Luke -- isn't so bad. These things are never explicitly stated in the narrative, as Kanos is not a talkative guy, nor do we get an internal monologue. So "Crimson Empire III's" tension comes from the question of "What will Kanos do?"
That having been said, Stradley certainly does pay close attention to the timeline of the Bantam novels; "Crimson Empire III" slots in just after "Planet of Twilight." He explores a failed attempt at a peace treaty between the Empire and the Republic prior to the actual peace achieved in Zahn's "Hand of Thrawn" duology a few years later. There, it is Pellaeon and Leia who meet, but here it is lower-ranking representatives; the Republic is represented by Mirith Sinn and, ironically, Kanos. Things go haywire because of infighting among various Imperial groups, delaying the peace treaty until "Hand of Thrawn."
As with the first two "Crimson Empire" installments, "Crimson Empire III" can be boiled down to a simple synopsis, but it's loaded with character subtleties and plot machinations, so it has to be read carefully.
Leia – the chief of state at this point on the timeline -- trusts her head of security, Mirith Sinn. Since Sinn, broadly speaking, trusts her former lover Kanos, Leia does too. Luke does not trust Kanos, or even Mirith Sinn. This is somewhat at odds with most portrayals of Leia and Luke. Leia, a political leader, usually has to be wary about trusting former Imperials. Luke, with his Force abilities, usually has a more accurate sense of a person's intentions.
The most notable difference from the first two chapters is that "Crimson Empire III" heavily features the saga's main characters. So even though we don't get the "Luke versus Crimson Guard" visuals, we do get a fair amount of Luke. We see Leia in action in the Senate building, helping to fend off a kidnapping attempt (by one of those Imperial splinter groups) on her three children, who get their most prominent comics exposure outside of "Invasion," which was published around the same time but features Jaina, Jacen and Anakin a decade later, when they are teenagers.
Han is a New Republic general during this time. Seeing him standing on a battleship bridge is a nice visual accompaniment to his novel portrayals in "The Courtship of Princess Leia" and the "X-wing" books, when he leads the task force pursuing Warlord Zsinj. Here, he is cleaning up the mess in the Nam Chorios sector in the wake of "Planet of Twilight."
For the first time in the "Crimson Empire" saga, Stradley and Richardson acknowledge Grand Admiral Pellaeon being a major figure in Imperial circles; indeed, Pellaeon's Imperial Remnant will end up emerging as the true Imperial government by the time of "Hand of Thrawn" and the "New Jedi Order." The writers also give another nod to Nom Anor, the Yuuzhan Vong's advance agent. In "Crimson Empire II," he manipulates the Council of Moffs; this time, he stirs up unrest on Adumar (a subtle tie-in to the events of "Starfighters of Adumar") with anti-New Republic speeches, a tactic he will later use on Rhammamool in "Vector Prime." Boba Fett also makes a cameo, delivering Kanos to Devian.
For all Stradley's and Richardson's admirable attention to continuity, the "Crimson Empire" trilogy fizzles out. Not only does Kanos realize that he doesn't want to kill Luke, but Mirith Sinn decides she is done with serving the New Republic. Her thoughts are held even closer to the vest than Kanos', although broadly speaking, she seems depressed that her one-time lover Kanos is dead (he's not, but she thinks he is). Sinn also perhaps is starting to question public service in a less frothy way than Nom Anor's acolytes. Darth Vader killed her husband (as we see in a flashback panel), and Leia – the new government leader -- is Darth Vader's daughter, so Sinn may be wondering whether she's serving good or evil.
Rather than an epic conclusion, "Crimson Empire III" feels more like a lead-in to the next chapter of the lives of Kanos and Sinn. But neither character appears later in the saga, nor are they even mentioned. It would've been cool to have them pop up in a later story, with the author digging into the specifics of how Kanos' worldview changed and how Sinn's feelings for Kanos and about governmental power in general guided her career choices.
Of course, the "New Jedi Order," "Legacy of the Force" and most of "Fate of the Jedi" were already written when "Crimson Empire III" came out, which is why Kanos and Sinn don't appear there. There's no indication of any plans to continue their stories; it seems Stradley and Richardson were content to let them fade away into less public lives. Maybe Kanos continued to work as a bounty hunter; perhaps Sinn found a private security job. We'll never know, as Disney unfortunately rebooted the "Star Wars" continuity in 2014.
In the end, the "Crimson Empire" saga stands as an artistic masterpiece accompanied by intriguing but underexplored characters and plots that are more confusing than they need to be. For fans of comic art, it's a must-have; for fans of character journeys, it's a truncated path.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSat, 07 Nov 2015 11:42:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/11/7/Star-Wars-flashback-Crimson-Empire-III-Empire-Lost-201112‘Star Wars’ flashbabck: ‘Hard Currency’ (2000) and ‘The Third Time Pays for All’ (2011)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/10/31/Star-Wars-flashbabck-Hard-Currency-2000-and-The-Third-Time-Pays-for-All-2011
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The unexpectedly long gestation period between "Crimson Empire II" and "III" featured two short stories, both of which chronicle Kir Kanos in his bounty hunter guise as Kenix Kil. In collecting bounties, he racks up the funds needed to continue his bigger hunt in the "Crimson Empire" saga for those whom he considers responsible for the death of Emperor Palpatine, his late master.
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The four-page <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hard_Currency" target="_blank">"Hard Currency"</a> (2000), by Randy Stradley, was originally published in "Dark Horse Extra" Issues 21-24. The eight-page <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Third_Time_Pays_for_All" target="_blank">"The Third Time Pays For All"</a> (2011) was originally published in "Dark Horse Presents" Issue 1; it was written by Stradley and Mike Richardson, the duo behind the wider "Crimson Empire" saga. Both stories were collected in the "Crimson Empire Saga" omnibus, and the latter also appears in the "Crimson Empire III" trade paperback.
In "Hard Currency," Kanos kills Massimo, who had previously betrayed fellow New Republic officer Mirith Sinn, Kanos' sometimes love interest, sometimes enemy. During the events of "Crimson Empire II," Massimo was scarred by hot coals that forced him to adopt mechanical prosthetics. Massimo is a George Lucas "Star Wars" archetype in the spirit of Darth Vader, General Grievous and the original Marvel comics' Valance: Someone whose evil becomes more permanent with each prosthetic addition. Even though there's no bounty on Massimo, Kanos kills him anyway out of a sense of honor.
In "The Third Time Pays for All," Kanos hauls in a man for a bounty. When he goes to collect the bounty, he learns that this man killed younglings, so Kanos kills the man even though it means he'll only get 6,000 credits instead of 10,000. As with "Hard Currency," the writers remind us of Kanos' sense of honor.
Then in an epilogue, we learn that Sinn is now a personal bodyguard for Princess Leia, who is the chief of state during this time period. Even though 10 years have passed since "Crimson Empire II," Sinn still thinks of Kanos and vows that she won't fail if she gets a third chance to kill him, which is somewhat odd since they kissed on the last page of "CE II." Apparently, she still blames him for the death of her second-in-command, Sadeet, back in the first "CE."
Both stories work just fine in setting the stage for "Crimson Empire III," but it's interesting to note that "Hard Currency" was intended to lead into a different version of the trilogy capper that was originally planned for 2001 or 2002. This story probably would've had synergy with <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Horse_invasion_storyline" target="_blank">Dark Horse's planned invasion storyline,</a> which eventually morphed into Del Rey's "New Jedi Order."
When Lucasfilm gave Del Rey the invasion storyline, Dark Horse was soured on the time period for a while. But it finally explored the Yuuzhan Vong war in "Invasion" (2009-11) and finally published "CE III" in 2011-12, minus the invasion element.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSat, 31 Oct 2015 00:13:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/10/31/Star-Wars-flashbabck-Hard-Currency-2000-and-The-Third-Time-Pays-for-All-2011‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Invasion’ comics (2009-11)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/10/30/Star-Wars-flashback-Invasion-comics-200911
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Despite the fact that Lucasfilm's "New Jedi Order" saga was the most massively planned "Star Wars" saga – comprising 19 Del Rey novels from 1999 through 2003 – Dark Horse Comics was largely left out of the plans. Nom Anor, an advance scout for the Yuuzhan Vong, was awkwardly involved as a hooded figure in the confusing "Crimson Empire II" (1998-99), but that was the extent of the comics' involvement with the Yuuzhan Vong and the "NJO" era for many years. (A Wookieepedia entry about <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Horse_invasion_storyline" target="_blank">Dark Horse's original vision for an invasion storyline</a> makes for fascinating reading about what might have been.)
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Dark Horse's absence from the "NJO" finally era ended six years later with the three arcs of <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Invasion" target="_blank">"Invasion"</a> (2009-11) -- "Refugees" (Issues 0-5), "Rescues" (6-11) and "Revelations" (12-16) – with scripting by Tom Taylor and art by Colin Wilson.
Taking place during the first five books of the "NJO," "Invasion" calls to mind Michael Stackpole writing "I, Jedi" in a way that included and gave additional meaning to scenes from Kevin Anderson's "Jedi Academy Trilogy." The difference is that we don't see the precise events from the books (aside from a panel where Han recalls the moon descending on a defiant Chewbacca in "Vector Prime"). Instead, we see similar, parallel events from the Vong's initial push into the galaxy, along with more logistical details -- for example, the Vong use one conquered planet for growing food to feed their warriors.
The books hinted at the idea that the Vong were conquering several planets besides the ones we read about, and "Invasion" focuses on one of those: Artorius, which – much like the old Marvel comics – is ruled by benevolent monarchs, in this case the Galfridian family.
King Caled is a human who had two children, Finn and Kaye, with his first wife. His new wife, Nina, is a masqued former Yuuzhan Vong Shaper who is now a Shamed One. This is the first chronological appearance of a good Vong. The concept will come up again in Greg Keyes' "Edge of Victory" duology ("NJO" books seven and eight), where Anakin Solo befriends a Shamed One, and Aaron Allston's "X-wing: Mercy Kill," which features a Shamed One raised by humans.
The idea that an individual Vong is capable of decent and moral behavior clears up the nature-versus-nurture debate in regards to this species. Their absence from the Force is not due to the species being inherently evil, but rather some other reason (which presumably will be explained by the end of the "NJO" book series, although I can't recall what that explanation is).
Finn's arc is the same as Luke's in the original trilogy: He hasn't completed his training at the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, but he feels compelled to help his family. In an additional wrinkle, he can sense the Vong, a trait not held by any other Jedi, who can't sense the Vong through the Force. Kaye, meanwhile, has super strength.
A reader can assume that Nina used her shaping skills to give these superhero traits to her human children, a positive spin on the human slaves with coral implants that turn them into mindless fighters -- something seen in "Invasion" as well as Stackpole's "Dark Tide" duology. However, we don't see the specifics of how Nina gives them these traits, making me wonder if this series ended before Taylor intended it to.
While the Galfridian family is appealing, another hook of "Invasion" is that we get to see the descriptions of the "NJO" books brought to visual life by Wilson. This includes the interior of a Vong ship, a yammosk (war coordinator), villips (communication devices), blorash jelly (a binding gel) and grutchins (flying space wasps similar to the vulture droids from "Episode III"). Nina and Kaye, having commandeered a Vong ship, rescue refugees and proceed to use the ship to score victories against the Vong wherever they can. Nina and Kaye encounter a planet, Shramar, where the Imperials have made a deal with the Vong to use refugees as agricultural slave workers. It's the same idea as Han and Droma's adventures on Ruan in James Luceno's "Agents of Chaos" duology.
In Issue 0, Taylor clears up something that was a bit vague in the books. A blue-skinned female who appears to be a Chiss notes that "My species has encountered the Yuuzhan Vong before. Even in small numbers they were almost unstoppable." This is certainly a reference to Timothy Zahn's "Hand of Thrawn" duology that hinted of an alien threat in Chiss space at the edge of the galaxy. (The early outline for the multimedia invasion storyline may have intended to have the Chiss' battles with the Vong be the first incursion that eventually became the Helska/Belkadan thread in "Vector Prime.")
Taylor also adds something that's a contradiction at first glance. A journalist named Cianba gives Holonet reports straight from the battlefield of the Outer Rim peoples' battles against the Vong, yet we know from the books that Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya and the New Republic leadership refutes accounts of the invasion as being unreliable. Now we know they weren't merely ignoring Leia's first-person accounts of the Dubrillion takeover, but also live Holonet reports from other planets. I guess if the electorate is dismissing the news, perhaps politicians can, too. Putting "Invasion" and the "NJO" together, it could be read as a comment on our own society, where war on the other side of the globe is just something on the news channels, and we don't think it will affect our daily lives unless it comes to our soil.
But in light of the EU being canceled, the biggest hook of "Invasion" is that it's the only comic series where we get to see Jacen, Jaina and Anakin, aside from brief appearances as children in the "Dark Empire" saga and "Crimson Empire III." Jaina has a cute almost-romance with Finn and shows her piloting skills. The older generation also features prominently: Luke finds time to teach at his academy, where Mara also makes a cameo. Leia is organizing refugee services while Han – who is drowning his sorrows in Coruscant's cantinas during this time, according to Stackpole's duology – actually does pop up at the Jedi Academy long enough to act like Jaina's overly protective parent when he sees Finn's interest in her.
The "Invasion" saga ends with the Galfridians and a chunk of New Republic military defectors forming an Outer Rim Alliance (General A'baht threatened take his ships and defect in the books; Admiral Blysma actually does so). Taylor runs into a continuity wall at this point. In the book series, the Outer Rim Alliance is never mentioned. I guess we can presume they are holding their own out there, but are kept busy enough that they don't communicate with the Jedi or the New Republic military, which is more focused on the inner worlds. On a character level, Jaina and Finn's relationship can't be explored further because she never mentions him in any future book on the timeline (as those were already written).
I didn't appreciate "Invasion" all that much on my first read, as I had forgotten the details of the "NJO" and also knew this story was constrained by the wider continuity. But reading it in conjunction with the first five "NJO" books gives the whole saga more heft. The comic series adds visuals to go with the novels' words and also portrays an intimate story of a family whose lives are turned upside down by the Vong invasion.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksFri, 30 Oct 2015 00:04:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/10/30/Star-Wars-flashback-Invasion-comics-200911Loss of ‘Star Wars’ words might be even more tragic than loss of ‘Star Wars’ worldshttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/10/27/Loss-of-Star-Wars-words-might-be-even-more-tragic-than-loss-of-Star-Wars-worlds
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The loss of 37 years' worth of "Star Wars" Expanded Universe continuity gets talked about a lot as the saddest element of Disney's takeover for us old-school fans of the galaxy far, far away. But one could argue that the saga can recover from the reboot: Give Disney and its continuity editors -- the Lucasfilm Story Group – another 37 years and they could create an equally good story, propelled from the ground floor by proven talents like John Jackson Miller, James Luceno, Dave Filoni and Lawrence Kasdan. If you lost your "Star Wars" action figure collection in a fire, you could eventually reassemble an equally good collection.
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The more I think about it, though, the loss of the continuity and planets and species and galactic organizations and Jedi history and family trees aren't the most painful losses. The most painful loss to me is the nixing of "Star Wars" words ("turbolift," "refresher," "transparisteel," etc.). When I read John Jackson Miller's "A New Dawn" (2014) – the first Disney/LSG novel -- I tried to keep an open mind to the new continuity that tied in with "Rebels," and I mostly was able to do that. It was the absence of "Star Wars" words (now replaced with "elevator," "bathroom" and "window") that struck me in the same way the destruction of Alderaan struck Obi-Wan. It was like watching a "Star Wars" movie or TV episode without John Williams' or Kevin Kiner's music.
The American English words were intended to keep the theoretical new fan engaged. But they jarred me – a proven, obsessive "Star Wars" fan since 1985 -- out of the story.
Over the course of 37 years, the GFFA gradually figured out the right balance between Earth terms and sci-fi terms so that the universe was relatable yet exotic (a balance that all great sci-fi sagas strive for). Through an early process of trial and error from the 1970s through the mid-1990s (what we now know as "Basic" was called "Standard" as recently as "The Truce at Bakura" in 1994), followed by more uniform rules from the Lucasfilm continuity editors from the late 1990s through the 2014 cancellation of the EU, we saw the canonization of delicious "Star Wars" words like those mentioned above. Other tasty examples include "tunic" (shirt), "flimsiplast" (paper), "caf" (coffee), "tapcafe" (a café that serves higher-end ale and caf), "ryshcate" (a sweet Corellian cake), "holoprojector" (3-D TV), "credits" (dollars), "praxeum" (elite academy), "datapad" (computer), "datacard" (flash drive), "sanisteam" (shower), "glowrod" (flashlight), "lekku" (Twi'lek head tails), "skifter" (an illegal playing card), "slicer" (hacker), "stuncuffs" (electric handcuffs) and "vibroblade" (vibrating knife).
While I included the translations (or closest Earth equivalents) in the paragraph above, I didn't need the translations when reading "Star Wars" books. Context clues and repetition of the terms were more than enough for me to learn the "language" without being consciously aware I was doing so. It's similar to how a child learns a language through the fun of discovering the world.
It should also be noted that the invention of "Star Wars" words isn't something the book and comics authors took upon themselves. Rather, they were drawing from George Lucas' example in the films. Indeed, "comlink" (cell phone), "blaster" (laser gun), "cantina" (bar), "droid" (robot), "binders" (handcuffs) and "Padawan" (Jedi apprentice) are still present in the LSG stories because those terms were spoken in the films, which of course remained canonical after the Disney takeover (as did "The Clone Wars" TV series, even though Disney canceled it).
(Interestingly, "A New Dawn" also retains "slicer," which isn't used in the films or TV series. But it also uses "lift" instead of "elevator" in just one instance, making me think those were oversights as the line editors adjusted to the new mandate. At any rate, a mishmash of "Star Wars" and Earth terms isn't much less distracting than using all Earth terms. <a href="http://eleven-thirtyeight.com/2014/09/john-jackson-miller-on-a-new-dawn-elevators-and-being-awesome/" target="_blank">This interview with Miller</a> is the only article I could find that directly addresses the thought processes of the LSG regarding "Star Wars" terminology, although Miller is just guessing at how the editors came to their decisions. We're not likely to get any insight from the formerly great Star Wars Insider, either, as that magazine has embraced the revisionist history that the Expanded Universe is just a massive "What If" tale. The magazine doesn't ignore the EU's existence, but it has become a decidedly pro-Disney PR rag now, as one would expect from a licensed mag.)
Disney's mandate to use American English words rather than sci-fi words is distracting. But it actually gets worse than that, on two levels.
First, the embracing of Earth terms over GFFA terms makes "Star Wars" feel too much like Earth. From what I hear, "Aftermath" – the first Disney novel set between Episodes VI and VII – has shined a glaring light on this pitfall as it uses distinctly 21st century Earth words and phrases such as "trending" and "true dat." "Star Wars" has always drawn from historical and current Earth events ("So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause"), but using modern slang undermines the value of parable. It overemphasizes the familiar while obliterating the exotic.
Second, the strict rules about not using "Star Wars" words means that no new "Star Wars" words can be invented. This isn't a problem when words are synonyms, like "tunic" and "shirt" – aside from some of the life being sucked out of the universe for persnickety old-school fans, as I noted above. But it severely limits an author's creativity when he or she is trying to be creative in inventing, for example, an alien culture – and this impacts all fans, not just curmudgeonly fans like me.
The EU's "New Jedi Order" introduced the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong, who used organic analogs in place of machine and computer technology. The authors of the Vong saga gave us wonderfully evocative terms like "dovin basal" (mini gravity well projector), "yammosk" (war coordinator of hive-mind-linked ships), "ooglith masquer" (sheath disguise), "villip" (communication screen), "blorash jelly" (a binding substance), "amphistaff" (a weapon that can alternate between staff and whip) and "vunduun crab armor" (living battle armor).
Again, from context clues and outright descriptions in the books, I had no problem figuring out these new "Star Wars" words. A Disney "Star Wars" author, in addition to being discouraged from using sci-fi words, will subconsciously be discouraged from expanding the Disney "Star Wars" universe with new races, cultures, technologies and ways of life.
"A New Dawn" is almost as smart as any previous John Jackson Miller story, but it feels emptier, partly because he couldn't draw upon the EU continuity (or because he was instructed to change it, notably with Depa Billaba's new, blander backstory) but just as significantly because he couldn't use "Star Wars" words.
I've heard similar observations about James Luceno's "Tarkin" (2014), the second book of the Disney continuity. Luceno's "Darth Plagueis," which told Darth Sidious' backstory and drew upon the EU (as Luceno always did, masterfully) was 379 pages long. "Tarkin," rather than tying together all of Tarkin's intriguing EU threads (for example, his relationship with Daala and his enslavement of Ackbar), could only draw from his appearances in "The Clone Wars" and "A New Hope." Not surprisingly, it clocked in at just 274 pages.
The page counts of Luceno's pre- and post-Disney books suggest that about 25 percent of what used to make "Star Wars" great is now gone. And it will never return as long as Disney thinks the average fan is too dumb or lazy to handle it.
Still, the new timeline is not automatically better or worse than the old one; it is just different, and 37 years from now we can compare the two to see which is better. But the censorship of the language almost guarantees that Disney's "Star Wars" will be worse.
BooksStar WarsComic booksTue, 27 Oct 2015 11:46:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/10/27/Loss-of-Star-Wars-words-might-be-even-more-tragic-than-loss-of-Star-Wars-worldsTop 25 biggest ‘Star Wars’ Expanded Universe unanswered questionshttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/10/13/Top-25-biggest-Star-Wars-Expanded-Universe-unanswered-questions
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Before its cancellation in 2014, the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe (now called Legends) was a treasure trove of interconnected stories, creative retcons, and – admittedly – a fair number of unanswered questions and plot holes that were never resolved. Since Disney says it has no plans to produce more Legends books and comics, these are now permanent gaps in the narrative. Possibly, they would not have been addressed even if the EU had continued, but I liked the idea that they could've been.
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But hey, we can still have fun speculating and theorizing. Here are my picks for the 25 biggest plot holes, unanswered questions, unfinished character arcs and just-plain-oddities in the EU. Keep in mind that this list only includes EU-specific story points that will probably never be answered. While there are several dangling threads from "The Clone Wars," that series is part of the Disney canon and answers are being parceled out on "Rebels" and in the novels and comics.
1. How does Darth Vader escape Rebel captivity? – At the end of the "Force Unleashed II" book and comic, Vader is secured by the Alliance in a specially built harness and he is to be transported to Dantooine for interrogation. The series was then canceled, and Vader is free from imprisonment in the next chronological story and he never mentions his captivity. Presumably, he would've used the Force to escape in "The Force Unleashed III" before the Rebellion can get any information from him, but the fact that that story doesn't exist leaves the biggest plot hole in the entire EU.
2. Does Darth Bane live on through Zannah? – Author Drew Karpyshyn definitively stated that at the end of his "Darth Bane" trilogy, Bane is dead and Zannah is the next Sith master in line. However, a remarkable number of readers (me included) misread the ending to imply that Bane transfers his essence into Zannah, and I contend that this is the more compelling interpretation. If Bane continues to transfer his essence through the millennium, it would explain why all his successors follow the Rule of Two and the idea of biding their time up until Palpatine's power play. (If this were the case, a story would be needed to show Bane's actual death at some point prior to Plagueis and Sidious, who are clearly not possessed by Bane.) Conversely, if Zannah is indeed her own person, it would've been neat to see the next chapter in her journey.
3. How is the Massassi Temple rebuilt? – The Grand Temple that the Rebels use as their Yavin base in "A New Hope" is destroyed by the Empire in the Goodwin/Williamson strips, then it is standing tall again in the "Jedi Academy Trilogy" with no explanation. This would've been a good opportunity for a story of Luke and some fledgling students using the Force to rebuild the Temple stone by stone.
4. How do the Imperials reclaim Coruscant? – Coruscant is in the hands of the New Republic at the end of the Thrawn trilogy and in the hands of the Empire at the beginning of "Dark Empire." The short story "Retreat from Coruscant" in "Tales from the Empire" tells of mail carriers fleeing the planet during the Empire's invasion. But that's the only story about this momentous galactic event.
5. What is the fate of Dass Jennir, the Uhumele crew and the hidden Jedi? – At the end of the "Dark Times" comic series, many of the heroes are alive and well, and they haven't lost their fighting edge. The Jedi Jennir and the smugglers and rebels on the Uhumele could've been key contributors to the Rebel Alliance. K'Kruhk's young Jedi are in hiding, so perhaps they live on in peace, but it would've been nice if that society had been revisited, perhaps during Luke's era as Grand Master. K'Kruhk himself pops up again in "Legacy" when he passes R2-D2 on to Cade Skywalker, strongly hinting that K'Kruhk knew Luke at some point between "Dark Times" and "Legacy." Did Luke meet the Jedi-in-hiding in an untold story? Or did K'Kruhk keep their secret, and if so, why?
6. Do Ben and Vestara get back together? – The relationship between Ben Skywalker and Vestara Khai is a highlight of "Fate of the Jedi." She has slid to the dark side in "Crucible," and that's where the Expanded Universe novel series ended due to the cancellation.
7. What happens to Dani and Kiro? – The Zeltron Dani and water-breathing Kiro are among the best original characters of the first Marvel comics run. But their relationship is never explored after Issue 107 and Kiro is not recruited for Luke's Jedi Academy despite being an obvious candidate.
8. How do Sidious and Vader find and train Emperor's Hands, Inquisitors and other dark siders? – The two Darths wipe out the Jedi, and Force users have to go into hiding, although Sidious and Vader keep a few in their employ, including Jerec ("Dark Forces" trilogy) and Starkiller ("The Force Unleashed"). Yet after the Purge, Sidious and Vader somehow continue to have a steady supply of Force-using assistants: Emperor's Hand Mara Jade, Inquisitors such as Brandl (Patricia Jackson's short stories) and Loam Redge ("The Ruins of Dantooine"), and undercover agent Shira Brie (original Marvel comics). Did they set aside these Force users as children as they came across them during the Purge? If so, how did they decide who was worth the risk of training? In particular, Mara was begging for a detailed backstory.
9. What happens to Dash Rendar and Guri? – The final panel of "Shadows of the Empire: Evolution" implies they are a couple, and since Guri is a human replica droid, further chronicling of their relationship would've made for interesting sci-fi explorations about droid sentience and natural rights along the lines of I-Five from Michael Reaves' books. And Dash Rendar is a rather major character to simply disappear from the narrative.
10. What's the deal with the disappearance of Syal Antilles Fel? – This thread fell victim to the cancellation of the "X-wing Rogue Squadron" comic series. Wedge begins to investigate the mystery in the comics, then we learn she's alive and well later in the "X-wing" book series, but we don't have the detailed story about what happened to her.
11. How and why do the droids depart and return to the Organa family's service? – At the end of "Revenge of the Sith" and the beginning of "A New Hope," R2-D2 and C-3PO belong to Bail Organa's family (first Bail himself, then his adopted daughter Leia). In between, the droids have plenty of other short-lived masters in the "Droids" cartoon and the Star and Dark Horse "Droids" comics. We never got the story of how (or why) they left and returned to the Organa family's service.
12. What are the details of Ackbar's enslavement under Tarkin? – It's mentioned on multiple occasions that Ackbar was once a slave of Tarkin. But that story was never told, despite both being fairly major characters.
13. What happens to Korto Vos? – The Force-sensitive child of Quinlan Vos provides a note of hope at the end of the "Republic" comics' chronicle of the Clone Wars, but he's never heard from again.
14. What happens to Tanith Shire? – This garbage hauler has serious chemistry with Luke in the Goodwin/Williamson strips, but she's never heard from again and Luke doesn't even spare a thought for her in future yarns.
15. Where are the stories about Han Solo's old friends? – Many stories feature Han's reunions with supposed old friends, girlfriends and colleagues, but the backstories are often left unexplored. Notable exceptions are A.C. Crispin's wonderful "Han Solo Trilogy" and Michael Reaves' "Shadow Games." The most notable "old friends" whose past relationships with Han are never explored are Raskar and Silver Fyre from the Goodwin/Williamson strips. And the last EU novel before its cancellation, "Honor Among Thieves," rather than taking the opportunity to tie some things together, introduces yet another "old friend" named Baasen.
16. So was Starkiller resurrected by the dark side, or was he a clone, or what? -- I don't even need a story exploring this question. I'd just like the authors of the "Force Unleashed" saga to explain their intentions.
17. What inspires Dodonna to go from principled Imperial to principled Rebel? – The military man retires as an Imperial in the "Republic" comics then pops up as a Rebel in the "Empire" comics. We know the Empire tries to assassinate him, which perhaps is reason enough for him to fully embrace the Rebellion. But we don't get any of his inner thoughts about why he decides the Republic/Empire can no longer be changed from within and instead needs to be overthrown, which is odd for a character often held up as a stately paragon of virtue.
18. What happens next in the lives of Kal Skirata's clones? – Are they able to live full lives after "Imperial Commando: 501st?" Kad Skirata, the son of Darman and Etain, pops up much later on the timeline in "Legacy of the Force." But specifics about how Kal's makeshift family adjust to the rise of the Empire went unexplored due to Karen Traviss bowing out of this storyline when "The Clone Wars" contradicted several continuity points.
19. What is Maris Brood up to on Felucia? – What happens to a darksider who is trapped on a planet? That was the intriguing question raised by Maris' arc in "The Force Unleashed," but she isn't revisited after that, not even in the sequel.
20. Why did the Mandalorians start a war with the Republic? – The comic series "Knights of the Old Republic" features a Mandalorian outcast, Rohlan, whose sole mission is to find out why the Mandalorians invaded the Republic. He never finds out the answer, which is odd because the long-running series seemed to end on its own terms and was even capped off by an epilogue called "War."
21. Who wins the feud between Aurra Sing and the Dark Woman? – Fallen-Jedi-turned-bounty-hunter Aurra Sing and her unorthodox former master, the Dark Woman, have a running rivalry throughout the "Republic" comics that doesn't get resolved.
22. What is the Ansion mission? – At the end of the "Rebellion" comics, the Rebels are ramping up for a mission to Ansion. They form the first B-wing squadron, called Dagger Squadron, specifically for the mission. However, the series ended and it was not chronicled.
23. Why is AG-37 loyal to the Solo family? – In "Legacy Volume II," Ania Solo's droid protects her because, he says, "I made a promise to a Solo once." Who was that Solo (Han? Jaina? Allana?), and why did the droid make that promise? I suppose we'll never know.
24. What was the beginning of civilization in the galaxy like? – "Dawn of the Jedi" purported to tell, well, the dawn of the Jedi. But as cool as that series is, the basic laws of the Force are already in place during these stories set 25,000 years before "A New Hope," and it's basically a Jedi vs. Sith story, even if those aren't the accepted terms yet. It might've been neat to go back even longer ago in the galaxy far, far away.
25. What do the Skywalker and Solo family trees look like between the "Crucible" novel and the "Legacy" comics? – It's fun to learn the links between stories told out of order, as we found when the prequel era was unveiled and gradually lined up with the original trilogy. Similarly, the next major era in EU novels would've continued to chronicle Ben Skywalker (the ancestor of Kol and Cade Skywalker) and Jaina and Allana Solo (one of whom is presumably the ancestor of Ania Solo).
What are your picks for the biggest EU unanswered questions and missing links? Please share in the comment threads below any story points that I may have overlooked.
BooksStar WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 13 Oct 2015 00:21:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/10/13/Top-25-biggest-Star-Wars-Expanded-Universe-unanswered-questions‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Revolution’ (2009)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/18/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Revolution-2009
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Dynamite Comics seemed to have little regard for continuity when it abruptly and inexplicably switched to a new timeline between Issues 5 (the last issue of "Infinity") and 6 (the first issue of the "Painkiller Jane" crossover) of its "Terminator 2" title. After "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" TV show gave us still another new version of post-"T2" continuity in 2008, Dynamite came back with <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator:_Revolution" target="_blank">"Terminator: Revolution"</a> (2009). Despite the new numbering system, though, this is a continuation from the "Infinity" universe rather than yet another reboot.
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Also refreshing, the five-issue "Revolution" is much better than "Infinity," despite still being written by Simon Furman (Lui Antonio takes over art duties). Whereas "Infinity" was an overly familiar story of John going from whiny kid to respected leader, "Revolution" goes in fresh directions.
While there are unquestionably some contradictions to established lore here, it is a fun action yarn – following the traditional "simultaneous" action-at-two-points-in-time (1996 and 2015) structure. It also informs us of the time-travel trigger for this new timeline, something that was not mentioned in "Infinity."
CHARACTERS
John Connor: He's the respected Resistance leader in 2015, having completed his late-bloomer heroes' journey in "Infinity." His 1996 self is the John from "Terminator 2," one year older.
Sarah Connor: She's working as a waitress in 1996 in New Orleans as she tries to keep herself and John off the radar of the law and Terminators.
Kyle Reese: He was introduced as an orphan in the 2009-set "Infinity," and by 2015, he's the adopted son of John and Tara Connor. He seems to be about 10-13 years old here. It's not explicitly stated, but it seems quite clear that John has informed Tara of Kyle's destiny.
Tara (Holden) Connor: She's John's wife and a respected leader in her own right.
TERMINATORS
T-Infinity: The same villain from "Infinity," it's a high-tech, plasma-blade-wielding Terminator with a built-in ability to travel through time. It can also take humans with it through time if they are in contact with it. It absorbs bullets and plasma blasts fired at it, but the good guys figure out its one weakness: It needs to see those projectiles in order to stop them. If it's distracted, it can be beaten.
T-850s: In 1996 in New Orleans, John and Sarah are pursued by eight (!) of the same model, with goatees, sunglasses, Killswitch Engage T-shirts and leather jackets.
The Dire Wolf: Like the T-Infinity, it is a Terminator with a built-in time travel ability. Even more impressive, it can track the T-Infinity through time. We also saw a wolf Terminator back in the Now Comics.
CONTINUITY AND CONTRADICTIONS
"Revolution" picks up from the cliffhanger to "Infinity," where the T-Infinity announces its intent to target Tara Connor in 2015. Although defeated in "Infinity," it survives and regroups at the 2033 Dismal River, Nebraska, Skynet hub, then goes back to 2015 to attack Tara.
One of the covers to "Revolution" Issue 1 shows John as a Terminator. This is a stylized representation of the fact that young John mistakes older John for a Terminator; he isn't literally a Terminator here. However, two future continuities picked up the concept of John-as-Terminator: He gets a machine heart in "Salvation" and is a flat-out Terminator in "Genisys."
Kyle being the adopted, smothered son of John and Tara is a stark contrast to "All My Future's Past" (the first "T1" story of the 2029 time travel) and "Nuclear Twilight" (the first "T2" story of the 2029 time travel), where John keeps his distance from Kyle so as not to mess with destiny. The Connors' overprotectiveness of Kyle is consistent (John kept Kyle away from the most dangerous missions in "Nuclear Twilight"), but because the Connors meet Kyle at such a young age here, one wonders how he developed any fighting skills. Maybe it's just in his DNA. Indeed, he does break free of his mom's overprotectiveness to contribute to the fight in "Revolution."
The Skynet Missile Command Center is in Buffalo, N.Y. This is unique to this timeline. Come to think of it, previous timelines tended to be vague about where the nuclear missiles were launched from, although Skynet's main HQ was almost always in Colorado.
When Tara and her team successfully take over Skynet's computers and launch a nuclear missile that destroys Skynet's Nebraska hub, the Resistance has seemingly won the war in 2015. This is, of course, much earlier than the traditional 2029 date of Resistance victory (and that date is pushed back even later in other continuities). However, John had just experienced 1996 New Orleans events that were slightly different from the first time around, so he's doing a lot of thinking about multiple timelines. As such, he believes in his gut that the war is continuing on other timelines.
In some post-"T2" stories, the next Terminator attack comes immediately after the movie (notably the Malibu Comics), but this is one where Sarah and John have a bit of breathing room. Sarah returning to her low-profile waitress job is somewhat similar to the Dark Horse "T1" timeline, where she is working as a maid in a small town in California. There, she changes her name; here, she just changes her location. In both cases, it doesn't do any good, as Terminators find her and John anyway, although they find them a bit faster here (in 1996) than in the Dark Horse continuity (in 1998). The Connors probably had the right idea in the Stirling trilogy, where they changed their names, moved to Paraguay and made detailed preparations for J-Day; indeed, Sarah survived all the way up to 2029 in that timeline. Tiedemann's "Hour of the Wolf" also saw the Connors changing their names; there, they lived and worked in Santa Fe, N.M., in the wake of "T2."
In "Revolution," though, we get a half-hearted version of "living off the grid." Although the Connors move to New Orleans and Sarah keeps a low profile, Sarah does allow John to attend school and go by his real name. This is in line with "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," where Sarah is worried about future Terminator attacks and the potential J-Day, but they aren't living off the grid to the degree of most post-"T2" stories.
John meets himself here – in 1996 New Orleans -- although only the older John is aware of it. The meeting of two Johns also happened in the Blackford trilogy; in that case, it was younger John traveling into the future (and to a different timeline) to meet his older self in the 2029 Future War.
TIMELINES AND TIME TRAVEL
The T-Infinity accidentally zaps itself and John from 2015 to 1996. This leads to a showdown in New Orleans where eight Infiltrators are trying to kill John and Sarah, older John is trying to protect younger John (who thinks older John is a Terminator), the eight Terminators are trying to stop the T-Infinity because it's an anomaly, and the Dire Wolf is also trying to stop the T-Infinity because its movements through time could potentially mess up the timestream.
The first time through this timeline, John had been attacked by just one T-850 in 1996 New Orleans, rather than eight (why the number changes this time around is unclear). But in both cases, he was protected by his older self (although Young John thinks Older John is a Terminator). The fact that the 1996 Terminator attack happened the first time through this timeline provides a definitive answer to the triggering mechanism that makes this a distinct timeline from other "T2" timelines. I had speculated in my "Infinity" post that this is the base "T2" timeline, but the information about the 1996 octet of Terminators reveals that to not be the case.
Kyle follows the Dire Wolf from 2015 to 1996, so Sarah has the brief, odd experience of seeing Kyle as a preteen. However, they don't interact much. On this timeline, when (and if) Kyle goes through the traditional 2029-to-1984 time travel, it will be old hat for him. But it might not come to that, as "Revolution" ends with Resistance victory over Skynet in 2015.
"Revolution's" time-travel loop gets closed when John reprograms the T-Infinity to take him and Kyle from 1996 back to 2015. It had already been established in "Infinity" that the T-Infinity can travel forward through time as well as backward. This has become an increasingly common phenomenon as "Terminator" lore expands; most famously, forward time travel was seen in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "Genisys."
"Revolution" is shaky on the rule that time travelers must be naked for the time-displacement field to work. In the cases where people travel fully clothed via the T-Infinity or Dire Wolf, their clothes are not disintegrated nor are they harmed by the time-displacement field. However, for the final instance of time travel, John and Kyle are naked when they go from 1996 back to 2015.
TerminatorComic booksFri, 18 Sep 2015 14:24:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/18/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Revolution-2009‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Terminator/Painkiller Jane: Time to Kill’ (2008)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/17/Terminator-flashback-TerminatorPainkiller-Jane-Time-to-Kill-2008
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-painkiller-jane.jpg">
The track record of crossovers in the "Terminator" saga has been a bit shaky so far, with guest appearances by "Robocop," "Superman," "Aliens" and "Predator." Of all things, it turns out to be "Painkiller Jane" that provides the most entertaining crossover up to this point with Dynamite Comics' four-issue <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Painkiller_Jane_vs._Terminator" target="_blank">"Terminator/Painkiller Jane: Time to Kill"</a> (2008).
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Written by "Jane" creator Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Nigel Raynor, who also did "Infinity," this series originally ran in Dynamite's "Terminator 2" Issues 6 and 7 and "Painkiller Jane" Volume 2 Issues 4 and 5. "Time to Kill" works because of Palmiotti and Raynor's kinetic action stylings, the banter between Jane and Maureen and the fact that these two worlds sync up so well. Jane's healing ability makes her a perfect candidate to take on a Terminator.
(Interesting trivia tidbit: Kristanna Loken, the T-X in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," went on to play the title character in the "Painkiller Jane" TV series.)
CHARACTERS
John Connor: The leader of the Resistance in 2029.
Sarah Connor: Not in this story.
Kyle Reese: He gets sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 as per the traditional story.
Jane Vasko: The "Painkiller Jane" title character has her Wolverine-like healing powers thanks to a "drug cocktail," we're told in the introduction. But her daughter in the Future War, Vanessa Vasko, also has those powers, so apparently it's somehow genetic.
Maureen: Jane's best friend and an NYPD lieutenant. The connection to Maureen is why Jane is able to help out on cases without officially being on the force. Kind of an Angel and Kate thing, to use an "Angel" reference.
Vanessa Vasko: Jane's daughter, she is a crucial member of the Resistance due to her healing ability -- so much so that John thinks if he sends her back to 2008 to pursue the Terminator, the loss of Vanessa in the battlefield could turn the tide of the war against them.
TERMINATORS
Female Terminator (a T-800 or a T-X?): The Terminator that goes from 2029 to 2008 seems to be a T-X from the way it uses its tongue to analyze a blood sample. It also blows up pretty good, as if it has one of those more advanced fuel cells, although I suppose a T-800 could blow up too. Everything else points to it being a T-800: It has a traditional endoskeleton underneath its skin, it doesn't look like the default T-X visage from "T3," and it does not show any T-X powers other than the ability to analyze a blood sample. Also, until things go haywire, it is part of the same mission where the T-800 goes to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor; Skynet intended to send two Terminators. So it makes sense that she is also a T-800. When it ends up in 2008 NYC – where John Connor is not located -- it embarks on a convenient secondary objective of killing Jane Vasko.
Another female Terminator: In the Future War, we see what presumably is a T-800 with short blond hair. It looks very much like Eve, the T-799 (essentially the first T-800) from the Blackford trilogy.
The 1984 Arnold T-800: We see it go back through the time-travel device just before the Resistance forces arrive on the scene.
Shark Terminator: This story's L.A. Skynet fortress with the Continuum Transporter is surrounded by water and protected by shark Terminators.
Endoskeletons: The standard battlefield robot.
CONTINUITY AND CONTRADICTIONS
"Time to Kill" is split between Jane's story in the "present" – 2008 New York City – and the Future War of 2029 Los Angeles. It tells us via the "Terminator 2" cover logo that it is part of the "T2" franchise. However, it is clearly a different from the continuity introduced in "T2: Infinity," despite the fact that it's part of the same numbering system as that title! ("Infinity" was "T2" Issues 1-5, and Issues 6 and 7 are part of this crossover series.) The tipoff is that 2008 New York City is pre-apocalypse, and in "Infinity" Judgment Day happened in 2004. Aside from the title, one could make a strong case that it branches from the "T1" timeline (more on that in the Timelines and Time Travel section).
The female Terminator's time bubble emerges in a bar restroom. She finds the clothes of Maureen to be a match, and the action ensues. Much as the female bar patrons ogled the nude Arnold T-850 in "T3," the male patrons do the same to the female Terminator here.
Vanessa's time bubble emerges in a clothing store, conveniently enough. Kyle also gets some of his clothes from a clothing store in the first movie and "Genisys."
Interestingly, while John is not in NYC in 2008 when the Terminator shows up, he was there in 2000 in "The Dark Years," from the Dark Horse "T1" timeline. So it's possible that this story's "Terminator" didn't miss him by much.
TIMELINES AND TIME TRAVEL
Palmiotti gives us yet another version of the famous 2029 time machine sequence. He doesn't name the machine, which was previously called a time-displacement unit, time-displacement equipment, time vault and Continuum Transporter. I'll use "Continuum Transporter," or CT, as it is the most recent term used. This is the first version where there are two CT compartments side by side. As with most CTs, these can be programmed for date and location. (The first ones we saw, back in "All My Future's Past," could be programmed only for a date; the location was fixed. The most advanced version, in the Blackford trilogy, had a third programmable dimension: You could choose the timeline.) In one CT, the T-800 goes back to 1984, then Kyle later follows it. In the other, a female Terminator that was intended to team up with the Arnold T-800 accidentally ends up in 2008 NYC when the Resistance damages the CT. Vanessa then follows it in the other CT.
On this timeline, we know J-Day occurred after 2008 because when Vanessa thinks about going back to 2008, she thinks of "clean air."
Although the title clearly tells us this story is on a "T2" timeline, we don't see the scene of the T-1000 and the reprogrammed T-800 going back to 1995. Aside from the title, all other evidence – including the lack of any references to the events of 1995 -- points to this story actually branching from the "T1" timeline. However, none of that precludes "Time to Kill" from existing on a "T2" timeline, as the time travel leading to the 1995 events could happen after what we see in this story.
Although Palmiotti probably did not intend for this story to branch from a specific established timeline, one could argue that it branches from Dark Horse's "T1" saga because those comics never provided a definitive date for J-Day (although we know it had to have happened at some point, due to the Future War scenes). The primary timeline of the Blackford/Tiedemann "T2" saga also finds the world safe from J-Day in 2008, and in the Jade's World portion of that series, J-Day doesn't occur until 2021.
Regardless of whether this is a "T1" or "T2" yarn, it clearly is on a new time branch, because the time travel sequence is unlike any we've seen previously; it is most obviously distinguished by the twin Continuum Transporters.
TerminatorComic booksThu, 17 Sep 2015 00:17:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/17/Terminator-flashback-TerminatorPainkiller-Jane-Time-to-Kill-2008‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Terminator 2: Infinity’ (2007)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/16/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-2-Infinity-2007
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//t2-infinity.jpg">
While not exactly a failure, the "Terminator 3" franchise petered out fairly quickly compared to other "Terminator" multimedia campaigns, with the last novel coming out in 2004. Three years later, the saga was resurrected, although new license-holder Dynamite Comics (acquiring the "T2" license previously held by Malibu Comics) opted to play in the original "T1"/"T2" timeline rather than pick up on the "T3" threads left dangling by Aaron Allston's books. It's likely Dynamite also acquired "T3" licensing rights (previously held by Beckett), as it incorporates elements from that movie as well.
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Written by Simon Furman with art by Nigel Raynor, the five-issue <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator:_Infinity" target="_blank">"Terminator 2: Infinity"</a> (2007) is a heretofore unexplored "T2" timeline that has elements of "T3." But it clearly is not on the "T3" timeline for a variety of reasons that I'll explain below. Furman's main goal is to explore John Connor's rise to Resistance leader. It may have seemed inevitable in the movies – and novels such as S.M. Stirling's and Russell Blackford's gave detailed accounts of John's journey to leadership -- but "Infinity" imagines a case where John resists taking up the mantle.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: Somewhat minimizing the importance of John's Campbellian hero's journey in "T2" and "T3," he reverts to full-on "Why me?" whiny mode in this story. He has the usual complaints about how everyone he cares about dies. But after surviving a near-suicidal mission, and being motivated by a pep talk from Tara Holden, he decides he'll lead the Resistance after all; essentially, he's a late bloomer. Having been born in 1984 – as per the original "T1"/"T2" timeline -- John is 25 in 2009.
Sarah Connor: She's not in this story, having died between the events of "T2" and "T3."
Kyle Reese: A young boy named Kyle (almost certainly Kyle Reese) is hanging out with John's Resistance troupe in 2009, but he doesn't play a major role in the story.
Kate Brewster: She had died in 2007, at age 22 (having been born in 1985), in this continuity. John loved her, although the exact details of their relationship have to be slightly different than what we saw in "T3," as they were four years older on that timeline than on the Dynamite timeline.
Tara Holden: A former U.S. military woman, she now leads a Resistance troupe. She responds to John's Morse code message for Resistance groups to meet up and join forces, and becomes a second-in-command to John. The last panel reveals that she will be John's wife, Tara Connor, by 2015. Tara is the second example of John having a wife/second-in-command in "Terminator" lore, following Kate Brewster of the "T3" saga, although he also had a significant other in Juanita Salceda in the Blackford trilogy.
TERMINATORS
Uncle Bob: Despite sharing the nickname, he's not the 1995 "T2" unit, or even the same model. But he is a good Terminator sent back from 2030-something by John to protect John in 2009 and see that he fulfills his destiny. Presumably a T-800, Uncle Bob is unit number 675/45.
T-Infinity: This "temporal Terminator" is sent back from 2033 by Skynet with the aim of fixing "primary sources of corruption in the timestream" because "the timeline (has been) damaged" by those sources. One of those sources is the Uncle Bob of this story. The T-Infinity doesn't need a Continuum Transporter (a.k.a. time displacement equipment, a.k.a. time vault) to move through time. Rather, it can phase itself ("temporal relocation") to different places, similar to "X-men" Nightcrawler – a handy battlefield tactic. Even more impressively, it can phase itself to different points in time; essentially it is a Terminator with a built-in Continuum Transporter.
Endoskeletons: The standard battlefield unit.
CONTINUITY AND CONTRADICTIONS
"Infinity" takes place in 2009 on a new timeline that springs from "T2" and also incorporates the broad elements of "T3," namely the fact that J-Day occurred in 2004. But this story branches from the "T2" timeline, not the "T3" timeline, as I'll explain in the Timelines and Time Travel section.
We're told the events of "T2" happened in 1995. This is consistent with the film, the novelization, the Malibu Comics and the Stirling trilogy, but different from the Blackford/Tiedemann novels – the most recent "T2" timeline we had seen -- in which the "T2" events happened in 1994.
The Resistance is on the verge of winning the war in 2033 in the opening panel of "Infinity." This is why Skynet sends the T-Infinity on its mission. In the original "T1"/"T2" timeline, the Resistance is on the verge of winning in 2029, hence the time-travel missions of those movies. But the war continues beyond 2029 in numerous timelines, including that of the Now Comics, which didn't explain why the war continued; the Malibu Comics, which ended with a cliffhanger where Skynet turns the tide of the war in 2029; and the "T3" franchise, which downplayed the idea of a pivotal 2029 victory by the Resistance.
Uncle Bob greets John with "Come with me if you want to live," which is of course a nod to the first two "Terminator" films. "T3" wisely resisted using it, instead going with "You wanna live? Come on!" The increasingly tired line would also pop up again in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," "Terminator Salvation" and "Terminator Genisys" -- and probably other comics and novels, too.
Skynet controls the radio waves in this story. John's mission is to send out Morse code on a back channel – hoping Skynet won't notice it – in order to bring scattered Resistance cells together. In other timelines, the Resistance had found airwaves that Skynet ignored due to Resistance programming (Allston's "T3" novels) or piggybacked on Skynet signals in a way that Skynet didn't notice it (the Stirling trilogy).
The idea of bringing Resistance cells together contrasts with the Resistance's usual strategy of keeping cells separate for the sake of safety. However, this is early in the war, where the Resistance structure has not been organized yet. John needs to bring everyone together in order to set up that structure in the first place.
Albuquerque, N.M., is the location from which John can send out the Morse code signal. John and Sarah Connor called Santa Fe, N.M., home in the opening chapters of Mark Tiedemann's novel, "Hour of the Wolf."
In the 2009 of this timeline, the human fighters are only familiar with the endoskeleton models, not infiltrator models, meaning Skynet has not built T-800s – or even T-600s -- yet. This is consistent with the original "T1"/"T2" timeline, where T-800s were new in 2029. It contrasts with the "T3" timeline, where T-800s were already on the drawing board before Judgment Day. Interestingly, 2009 is the precise year that T-800s roll off the assembly line in the Dark Horse "T1" 1984 saga.
Denver is where Skynet is mass producing its weaponry. While Colorado is almost always the headquarters of Skynet, Cheyenne Mountain is usually the specific location.
Skynet also has a major hub in Nebraska, out of which the T-Infinity operates. It's the first time the Cornhusker State has factored into "Terminator" mythology.
"Infinity" ends on a cliffhanger where the T-Infinity announces its next mission is to go after Tara (Holden) Connor in 2015. That story will be told in "Revolution" (2009).
TIMELINES AND TIME TRAVEL
"Terminator 2: Infinity" is set in 2009 on a new Dynamite Comics timeline springing from "T2." On this timeline, "T1" happened in 1994, "T2" in 1995 and the broad events of "T3" in 2004. This is different from the "T3" timeline, where "T1" happened in 1980. In addition to John being a different age, other details of "T3" are contradicted in "Infinity," such as the fact that Infiltrators haven't been invented yet. As such, it makes sense to say the Dynamite timeline is a "T2" timeline (and, of course, the title confirms this) with elements of "T3." In the "T3" franchise, "T3" is the anchor story and the broad elements of "T1" and "T2" are in its backstory.
While the Dynamite timeline is a "T2" timeline, we know it is a different "T2" timeline from the Stirling trilogy and the Blackford/Tiedemann books. Those timelines had gone off in different directions by 2009. While "Infinity" could theoretically fit into the Malibu Comics timeline, which largely jumped from the present ("Cybernetic Dawn") to the future ("Nuclear Twilight"), there are so many major elements that don't cross over that it seems certain this is a new timeline. For example, John's wife Tara is not mentioned in the Malibu Comics, and John's best bud Danny Dyson is not mentioned in the Dynamite Comics.
Since the aforementioned "T2" timelines all branched off from the main timeline thanks to the emergence of a time traveler, it's possible that the Dynamite timeline is the original, or base, "T2" timeline – one in which the major events of "T3" follow. Those iconic events include the 2004 J-Day, Kate Brewster being introduced as John's love interest and a T-850 being sent back as a protector. I give these events "iconic" or "anchored" status simply because they carry across multiple timelines. Dynamite's original (pre-time traveler) timeline continues up until the Resistance's near-victory in 2033, which does not include Kate, as she had died in 2007. Then a branch occurs when the Uncle Bob and T-Infinity units appear in this 2009 where Kate had died in 2007 and John is moping around. Why Future John felt he had to send Uncle Bob to 2009 is unclear. Perhaps, looking back on things from a place of success, he was disgusted with his younger self and wanted to accelerate his rise to Resistance leader. Or maybe it's like the parody trailer of "Terminator Genisys" and John had simply lost his mind and sent gaggles of Terminators back through time.
On the final page, the T-Infinity says it has terminated "two of the four primary sources of corruption to the timestream," and oddly, we see a panel of it terminating the T-X from "T3" rather than the T-850 from "T3." Perhaps this was a way for the authors to say they didn't like "T3" or the T-X and they were "terminating" it from this timeline. Or perhaps in the Dynamite timeline's equivalent of "T3," the T-X was actually the protector. Allston's "Terminator Hunt" ended with a T-X on the side of the good guys, so maybe it was a nod to that story.
The T-Infinity doesn't need a Continuum Transporter (a.k.a. time displacement equipment, a.k.a. time vault) to move through time. Rather, it can phase itself ("temporal relocation") to different places, similar to "X-men's" Nightcrawler – a handy battlefield tactic. Even more impressively, it can phase itself to different points in time; essentially it is a Terminator with a built-in Continuum Transporter.
Since the T-Infinity uses phrases such as "primary sources of corruption in the timestream" and "the timeline is damaged," it seems like "Infinity" subscribes to the theory of a single – but changeable – timeline. The T-Infinity is aware of what the "correct" timeline should be and works to bring that about. However, it seems like the humans are not privy to the idea of a timeline that changes, nor would they be aware of such changes if they did happen; each human is living his or her own life on the one timeline he or she calls home.
Of course, we as readers are aware that there are multiple branching timelines in "Terminator" lore. But that doesn't necessarily negate the importance of the T-Infinity "fixing" this timeline, which – from its perspective – is the only one that counts. While the Blackford trilogy had people and robots hopping across timelines via the time vault, that seems to be beyond the ability of the T-Infinity.
TerminatorComic booksWed, 16 Sep 2015 16:03:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/16/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-2-Infinity-2007‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Terminator 3’ Beckett comics (2003)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/7/10/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-3-Beckett-comics-2003
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//t3-beckett-comics.jpg">
After a three-year hiatus (which, oddly, was packed with novels), the "Terminator" franchise returned to comics in 2003 with a six-issue series tying in with "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." Whereas Now's and Dark Horse's "T1" comics and Malibu's "T2" comics aimed to continue the saga with serialized adventures, Beckett Comics takes a more stylized approach with vignettes relating to the third movie.
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While I like the coloring on the books, I found the art mediocre and the stories -- written by Ivan Brandon -- inconsequential and filled with continuity head-scratchers, although the prequel, <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator_3:_Before_the_Rise" target="_blank">"Before the Rise"</a> (Issues 1-2), is pretty decent. That's followed by the shortened movie adaptation <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator_3:_Eyes_of_the_Rise" target="_blank">"Eyes of the Rise"</a> (Issues 3-4) and an alternate-timeline prequel called <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator_3:_Fragmented" target="_blank">"Fragmented"</a> (Issues 5-6).
One interesting bit of trivia is that these are the first comics – other than Marvel's "T2" adaptation -- that were allowed to use Arnold Schwarzenegger's likeness. This is more notable with the cover art than the inside art.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: In "Fragmented," we see him boozing it up at a dive bar, presumably not long before the events of "T3." He leaves a note for someone that he's gone out to shoot some pool, so perhaps he has a roommate. Or possibly this takes place before his mom died, and it's a note to Sarah.
Sarah Connor: Not in this series.
Kyle Reese: Not in this series.
TERMINATORS
T-800 or T-850, model 101: In "Before the Rise," Resistance fighters – on John Connor's orders – capture and reprogram an Arnold-model Terminator. We see a metaphorical perspective of what's going on inside the cyborg's head, as a young boy tries to teach him that he's on the humans' side now.
T-950s: In "Fragmented," John is protected by one T-950 and pursued by another. As the number suggests, these units are an iteration between the T-850 and T-1000, as their arms can turn into guns, but they aren't made of liquid metal.
T-1002: In "Eyes of the Rise," in a scene before the movie adaptation starts, the T-X fights this unit in a test area reminiscent of "X-men's" Danger Room. It is liquid metal, and is distinguished from a T-1000 in that it can form into deadly shapes (such as being covered with spikes) more quickly than what we saw from the T-1000 in "T2."
T-X: She's the point-of-view character in "Eyes of the Rise."
CONTINUITY AND CONTRADICTIONS
"Before the Rise" chronicles the Resistance's attempts to capture and reprogram a Terminator on John Connor's orders. After many deaths and injuries, they succeed in doing so, and the unit (a model 101 of the T-800 or T-850 series) saves them from a small Hunter-Killer, yet they declare the reprogramming a failure for some inexplicable reason. Still, because we metaphorically see inside the robot's head, it's safe to say this is the most detail we've gotten from any "reprogramming a Terminator" yarn so far.
Previous chronicles of the Resistance reprogramming Terminators include Danny Dyson doing so over the course of decades in "Nuclear Twilight" and Danny, John and Jade reprogramming T-800s and T-1000s in the Russell Blackford trilogy. In the "T2" novelization, the reprogramming of the T-800 is mentioned, but not with specifics of how it's done or who does it. John's tech-genius friend Snog reprograms the Uncle Bob T-800 in "The Future War." And we know from exposition that Kate reprograms the T-850 after it kills John in "T3."
"Eyes of the Rise" is an adaptation of "T3," but only of the scenes featuring the T-X. It was apparently produced before the film was finalized, because the T-X is in her human – rather than endoskeleton – guise in the final scenes. And while we see the fight between the T-X and T-850, the background is generic rather than a bathroom setting.
TIMELINES AND TIME TRAVEL
As "Eyes of the Rise" begins, the T-X is sent back from 2031 to "present day" (2004), contradicting the "T3" novelization where she was sent back from 2029. Also, she is sent back from the Colorado mountain headquarters in the book, but from a pyramidal building in the comic that calls to mind the Los Angeles-based time-displacement facility from other "Terminator" yarns.
"Fragmented" is hard to figure out, as two Terminators pursue John Connor pre-Judgment Day. John doesn't mention these Terminators in "T3." Most likely, this is a timeline where these two Terminators come back between the events of "T2" and "T3," but "after" -- in meta-time -- the "T3" as chronicled in the movie. As it turns out, the male Terminator is bad and the female Terminator is good, yet John notes that he'll eventually call the male Terminator a friend; is this because it's a 101 (Arnold) model of a T-950? The art doesn't seem to suggest that. Like I say, this one is hard to figure out. While the male T-950 is destroyed, the female is not, which is more evidence that this is an alternate timeline from the movie, since she plays no role in "T3."
TerminatorComic booksFri, 10 Jul 2015 01:18:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/7/10/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-3-Beckett-comics-2003My rankings of the eight long-running ‘Star Wars’ comics serieshttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/5/10/My-rankings-of-the-eight-longrunning-Star-Wars-comics-series
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//star-wars-comics1.jpg">
With the new ongoing Marvel comic series, not to mention the trailers for "Episode VII" and "Rebels" Season 2, drawing interest from new and casual "Star Wars" fans, I thought it'd be a good time to look back at the ongoing "Star Wars" comic titles from the now-defunct Expanded Universe (a.k.a. Legends) era of 1977-2014. While Disney is focused on its own continuity, it's often the case that new fans become curious about old stuff along with the new stuff.
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If you're one of those people, here's a handy guide to the eight long-running "Star Wars" titles from Dark Horse (and Marvel, way back when it first held the license), ranked by me after completing an intense re-read in recent years. "Long-running" here is defined as series that lasted at least 30 issues. Click on the link for each title and Wookieepedia will break down the details of each series and tell you what trade paperbacks and omnibus collections the issues can be found in. You can also find links to my more detailed reviews <a href=" http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/Index-Star-Wars-Comics-Reviews" target="_blank">here.</a>
1. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Legacy" target="_blank">"Legacy"</a> (2006-11, 50 regular issues, plus six-issue "War" miniseries) – Nearly a decade before Disney rebooted the "Star Wars" universe so its writers and directors could tell their own stories unencumbered by continuity, John Ostrander found a more palatable way to do it: by jumping a few generations into the future. "Legacy," most of which features the crisp and kinetic art of Jan Duursema, takes familiar elements (Jedi, Sith, Empire, Republic) and plays with them in new ways, with Luke's descendant Cade Skywalker (pictured above) as the main character.
2. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_X-Wing_Rogue_Squadron" target="_blank">"X-Wing Rogue Squadron"</a> (1995-98, 35 regular issues plus Wizard No. ½ and Apple Jacks Special) – Michael Stackpole's "X-wing" work was the most down-to-earth portion of the sweeping "Star Wars" mythology, starring Wedge Antilles, the GFFA's consummate Everyman. Sure, it featured hotshot pilots and top military minds, but their concerns were with family, friendships, relationships and careers – along with some occasional big-picture philosophizing. While the comics are rougher around the edges than the novels, and the Search for Syal Antilles arc went unfinished due to the title's cancellation, we do get important backstories (notably that of Baron Fel) and an opportunity to see novel characters brought to artistic life.
3. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dark_Times" target="_blank">"Dark Times"</a> (2006-13, 32 regular issues plus "Blue Harvest" No. 0) – Springing from the end of "Republic" and "Revenge of the Sith," Dark Horse editor Randy Stradley (going by a variety of pseudonyms) gave us the moodiest "Star Wars" series, chronicling Dass Jennir and K'kruhk, who do good Jedi deeds while trying to stay off the Empire's radar, and Bomo Greenbark, a mild-mannered Nosaurian who becomes vengeful when the Empire and its minions kill his family. The warm makeshift family of smugglers on the Uhumele contrasts nicely with the grim stories, and it's beautifully enhanced by Douglas Wheatley's meticulous painting-style art.
4. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Republic" target="_blank">"Republic"</a> (1998-2006, 83 regular issues, plus related miniseries such as "Jedi Council: Acts of War," "Jedi," "Obsession" and "General Grievous") – First, it gave us an ongoing story of various Jedis between Episodes I and II, then it jumped ahead to give us the first chronicle of the Clone Wars, before George Lucas' TV version. The breakout stars here were villain Asajj Ventress (mostly chronicled by Haden Blackman), who would be repurposed for the TV show, and troubled Jedis Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura (mostly chronicled by Ostrander, with art by Duursema). Anakin and Obi-Wan popped in often enough to provide a connection to the films.
5. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic_%28comics%29" target="_blank">"Knights of the Old Republic"</a> (2006-12, 50 regular issues, plus No. 0 and five-issue "War" miniseries) – John Jackson Miller burst onto the scene with this chronicle of a wrongly accused fugitive Jedi, Zayne Carrick, that – despite the harrowing premise – was freewheeling fun. While the story sometimes ran off the rails a bit and the art is inconsistent, Zayne's friendship with the scheming Gryph and romance with the mysterious Jarael kept me turning the pages. I found that it came to a sputtering end without explaining the Republic versus Mandalorian war, but players of the "Knights" video game might appreciate the full story better.
6. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Empire" target="_blank">"Empire"</a>/<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Rebellion_%28comics%29" target="_blank">"Rebellion"</a> (2002-08, 40 regular issues of "Empire" and 16 regular issues of "Rebellion," plus "Rebellion" No. 0) – These titles were an effective outlet for telling iconic stories between Episodes IV and V that had surprisingly gone untold. Highlights include idealistic Leia learning her first, harsh lessons about wartime decisions in an arc partly adapted from Brian Daley's radio drama; and Biggs Darklighter's complete journey from Imperial officer to Rebel pilot, which stands as a counterpart to Luke's coming-of-age journey with its sad ending. Also compelling is the ongoing contrast between Luke and another old friend, Janek "Tank" Sunber, who has many of Luke's values but believes the Empire is a better means to an end than the Rebellion. Many issues feature vibrant art by Davide Fabbri.
7. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Tales_of_the_Jedi" target="_blank">"Tales of the Jedi"</a> (1993-98, 34 regular issues split into seven miniseries, plus "Golden Age of the Sith" No. 0) – The groundbreaking nature of this title by Tom Veitch and Kevin J. Anderson can't be understated, as we got our first look at the time before Episode IV – and 4,000 years in the past, at that. Various artists blended beige Egyptian style architecture, both in buildings and spaceships, to provide an ancient feel, even though the technology is familiar. The writers delved more deeply into Jedi philosophy, introducing things like holocrons, and this saga still holds up even with Lucas redefining some Jedi ideals in the prequel trilogy.
8. <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_%28Marvel%29" target="_blank">Marvel "Star Wars" (Volume 1)</a> (1977-86, 107 regular issues, plus three annuals and four-issue "Return of the Jedi" adaptation) – While Marvel's first foray into "Star Wars" includes some of the saga's worst comics, it also includes a wealth of fascinating early "Star Wars" storytelling from Archie Goodwin (post-"A New Hope"), David Michelinie (post-"Empire") and Jo Duffy (pre- and post-"Jedi"). Highlights include Vader and Luke clashing sabers before "Empire"; Imperial infiltrator Shiri Brie framing Luke for her death, temporarily making him a pariah; and our Star Warriors searching for Han Solo by tracking Boba Fett and other bounty hunters. Maligned for much of the 1990s, Marvel's run gained a resurgence of respect in the 2000s, as shown by the return of Lumiya and other characters and species (notably, "Legacy" featured a Zeltron and a Nagai as prominent characters) to the Expanded Universe.
How would you rank the eight long-running "Star Wars" titles? And how does Marvel's new work compare so far?
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSun, 10 May 2015 00:52:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/5/10/My-rankings-of-the-eight-longrunning-Star-Wars-comics-series‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Old Republic: The Lost Suns’ (2011)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/21/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Old-Republic-The-Lost-Suns-2011
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//old-republic-lost-suns.jpg">
"The Old Republic" franchise – which is cranking out expansions to the game to this day – used the platforms of comics and novels primarily as teasers for the game from 2010-12, with almost all of the stories being standalones. The exception came at the very end of the tie-in material rollout, when the last comic-book series, the five-issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Old_Republic%E2%80%94The_Lost_Suns" target="_blank">"The Lost Suns"</a> (2011), led into the last novel, Drew Karpyshyn's "Annihilation" (2012).
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Alexander Freed had penned the serviceable webcomic series "Blood of the Empire," set early in the "Old Republic" era and telling the origin of Darth Thanaton. But Thanaton's story never continued outside of the game. "The Lost Suns" is a significant step up, as Freed jumps to the time after the Treaty of Coruscant (the official end of the Republic-Sith war, as chronicled in the other webcomic arc, "Threat of Peace") and introduces Theron Shan.
Theron is the son of Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan, but – giving the title a second meaning – she gave him up as a baby to be raised by her former master, Zho, presumably because she opted to focus on her Jedi duties. Zho raises and trains Theron as a Jedi on the Jedi Temple world of Haashmut – we get workout scenes that call to mind the Dagobah sequence in "Episode V" – and tells him to journey to the grounds of a Jedi enclave as his last trial. While they are polite about it, those Jedi reject Theron because he has no Force ability – and he never did, although Theron didn't realize that because Zho never told him.
I appreciate the subtlety of "The Lost Suns." The story follows the adult Theron, now a skilled Republic Strategic Information Service officer in the vein of James Bond, who is investigating the Sith Empire's rumored crimes against humanity. Zho turns up as a crazy, amnesiac old man who had spent decades in Sith space, initially on a reconnaissance mission, but ultimately a humanitarian mission to help slaves as best he can with his Force abilities. Theron – like the reader – is never entirely sure if he should despise or forgive Zho for sending him away and not telling him the truth.
Tiff'ith, a low-level Twi'lek criminal whom Theron picks up along the way, is likewise an intriguing cipher. While she complains about being along for this impromptu ride, at least it means Theron doesn't have time to pursue charges, and she ultimately becomes an ally. Rounding out the hodgepodge foursome is the droid M-6, whose name not coincidentally calls to mind the British spy agency MI-6.
Our heroes eventually learn that Darth Mekhis is using a superweapon to mine suns of their valuable matter, and among her armory will be another superweapon, essentially a Galaxy Gun, like in "Dark Empire II." While clichéd, the superweapon reveal isn't a letdown, because Freed spends enough time explaining the logistics of the operation.
With some scenes taking place on Taris ("Knights of the Old Republic") and some on Tython ("Dawn of the Jedi"), "The Lost Suns" features welcome tie-ins to other parts of the timeline. More importantly, it builds story momentum for the first time in "The Old Republic" comics/novels saga. Some of it will pay off in "Annihilation," although I would've gladly followed this group through even more stories.
As a consolation prize, though, the concepts of "The Lost Suns" would quickly be picked up in other "Star Wars" sagas. The chilling idea of the Republic giving up on seven star systems – ceding them to seven Sith lords – is similar to the premise of the novel and comic series "Knight Errant" (2010-12), set just before the time of Darth Bane, where lone Jedi Knight Kerra Holt finds herself trapped in Sith space. And the concept of a James Bond-like hero is revisited in the comic series "Agent of the Empire" (2011-13), set during the time of Palpatine's Empire.
Between the two "Star Wars" Bond tributes, I lean toward Theron Shan over "Agent of the Empire's" Jahan Cross. Theron is a self-made man who has overcome the crushing blows of abandonment and not having Force abilities, and – unlike Cross – he serves a relatively noble government.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 21 Apr 2015 01:43:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/21/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Old-Republic-The-Lost-Suns-2011‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Old Republic’ webcomics (2010)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/20/Star-Wars-flashbacks-The-Old-Republic-webcomics-2010
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//old-republic-blood-of-empire.jpg">
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//old-republic-threat-of-peace1.jpg">
There are two ways to approach video game tie-in comics – in a way that appeals to comic book fans, or in a way that appeals to players of the game. The "Knights of the Old Republic" game (2003) used the former approach, as John Jackson Miller told a coherent and engaging 55-issue serial, with the game's Republic versus Mandalorians war as the backdrop. "The Old Republic" game -- which launched in 2011 and is still going strong, and which followed "Knights" on the "Star Wars" timeline – used comics to flesh out specific events of the Republic versus Sith Empire war rather than telling an ongoing narrative.
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For people unfamiliar with the game, these stories give us little reason to care about what is happening – particularly the two <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Old_Republic_%28comics%29" target="_blank">"Old Republic" webcomic series</a> (2010), which were collected in print form as "Volume One: Blood of the Empire" (Issues 28-39 of the webcomic) and "Volume Two: Threat of Peace" (1-27). In fact, the whole rollout of "The Old Republic's" ancillary materials was messy: Like the comic stories, the four novels were not released in the order they occur on the timeline. Despite being in the media of books and comics, the target audience is primarily gamers – sort of like the short stories in West End Games' roleplaying game manuals from the 1980s and '90s.
But I'm a "Star Wars" comics completist, so here goes: Of the two webcomic arcs, Alexander Freed's <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Old_Republic_Volume_1:_Blood_of_the_Empire" target="_blank">"Blood of the Empire,"</a> set during the early part of the three-decade war, is the more tolerable entry. During this time, the Sith Empire runs an academy on Korriban, much as it would do two millennia later during the "Darth Bane" trilogy. One student, the male human Teneb Kel (eventually Darth Thanaton), is assigned to track down and kill the Sith Emperor's apprentice, the female Sith/human hybrid Exal Kressh, because she has fled with a secret.
The secret is that the Emperor has set up an alchemy-driven equivalent of the prequel's Kamino cloning facility – or Emperor Palpatine's lab featuring clones of himself in "Dark Empire" -- to produce an unlimited supply of dark-side warriors. Kel kills Kressh for the secret, then parlays his knowledge into a cushy post within the Dark Council.
Thanaton is your basic self-centered Sith. His relationship with his slave-turned-sidekick Maggot is the most interesting part of the story, because it's unclear if he is appreciative of Maggot or sees him as a disposable underling; this is largely due to the Abyssin's extremely unfortunate name.
We don't learn anything about how the Sith – or the emperor himself -- have built up enough power to make war with the Republic. The Sith were vanquished during the events of the "Tales of the Jedi" series, then rumored to be making a return throughout "Knights" (Zayne Carrick was wrongly accused of being a Sith), although it never happens.
Rob Chestney's <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Old_Republic_Volume_2:_Threat_of_Peace" target="_blank">"Threat of Peace"</a> jumps ahead 25 years and chronicles the Treaty of Coruscant, which as far as I can tell signifies the official end of the war, although the treaty will have reverberations leading to future "Old Republic" stories. It's an extremely choppy read with bad art, but I gather that the Sith manipulate the Republic into the signing the treaty, and many members of the Republic aren't too thrilled about it.
"Threat of Peace" introduces the teenage human Satele Shan, who will go on to become the Jedi Order's Grand Master. Wookieepedia tells me she's the daughter of Bastila Shan, a character from the "Knights" game (but not the comic). Satele also appears in three of the four "Old Republic" books and factors into the only non-web comic volume, "The Lost Sons." Satele is the closest we get to a main character in "The Old Republic."
The back of the "Threat of Peace" trade paperback includes a guide to characters, organizations and locations during the Sith versus Republic war. It's the best part of the collection. But "The Lost Suns" picks up a few decades later, so the comic series doesn't build on Chestney's groundwork. The guide – like the webcomics themselves – seems to be for gamers looking to better understand the environment.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 20 Apr 2015 01:51:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/20/Star-Wars-flashbacks-The-Old-Republic-webcomics-2010Index of my ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ reviewshttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/19/Index-of-my-Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-reviews
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//tmnt-logo.jpg">
In roughly chronological order, here are my reviews of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" comic books and movies:
VOLUME 1 (Mirage, 1984-93)
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/2/19/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-No-1-1984" target="_blank">Issue 1</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/2/23/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-No-24-198485" target="_blank">Issues 2-4</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/2/24/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-No-57-198586" target="_blank">Issues 5-7</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/2/24/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-No-89-1986" target="_blank">Issues 8-9</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/2/25/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-Raphael-Michaelangelo-and-Donatello-oneshots-198586" target="_blank">"Raphael," "Michaelangelo" and "Donatello" one-shots</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/2/25/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-Leonardo-oneshot-and-No-1011-198687" target="_blank">"Leonardo" one-shot and Issues 10-11</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/2/26/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-No-1215-1718-198789" target="_blank">Issues 12-15, 17-18</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/2/26/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-No-1921-Return-to-New-York-1989" target="_blank">Issues 19-21 ("Return to New York")</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/1/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-No-2426-The-River-1989" target="_blank">Issues 24-26 ("The River")</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/3/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-No-2733-3537-198991" target="_blank">Issues 27-33, 35-37</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/4/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-No-4149-199192" target="_blank">Issues 41-49</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/5/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-No-5061-City-at-War-199293" target="_blank">Issues 50-62 ("City at War")</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/2/28/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-1-Tales-of-the-Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-No-17-198789" target="_blank">"Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" Volume 1</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/23/TMNT-flashback-Turtle-Soup-1987-199192-and-Challenges-1991" target="_blank">"Turtle Soup"</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/16/TMNT-flashback-Shell-Shock-1989" target="_blank">"Shell Shock"</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/23/TMNT-flashback-Turtle-Soup-1987-199192-and-Challenges-1991" target="_blank">"Challenges"</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/29/TMNT-flashback-Uncollected-short-stories-from-Mirage-Volume-1-era-19862005" target="_blank">Uncollected short stories</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/7/TMNT-flashback-Special-issues-and-crossovers-19852007" target="_blank">Special issues and crossovers</a>
VOLUME 2 (Mirage, 1993-95)
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/29/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-2-No-113-199395" target="_blank">Issues 1-13</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/31/TMNT-flashback-Casey-Jones-North-by-Downeast-1994-and-Bodycount-1996" target="_blank">"Casey Jones: North By Downeast"</a>
VOLUME 3 (Image, 1996-99, 2011-12)
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/30/TMNT-flashback-Image-Vol-3-No-18-199697" target="_blank">Issues 1-8</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/1/TMNT-flashback-Image-Vol-3-No-916-199798" target="_blank">Issues 9-16</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/3/TMNT-flashback-Image-Vol-3-No-1723-199899" target="_blank">Issues 17-23</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/3/TMNT-flashback-Image-Vol-3-No-2425-201112" target="_blank">Issues 24-25</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/31/TMNT-flashback-Casey-Jones-North-by-Downeast-1994-and-Bodycount-1996" target="_blank">"Bodycount"</a>
VOLUME 4 (Mirage, 2001-14)
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/7/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-4-No-17-200102" target="_blank">Issues 1-7</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/10/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-4-No-813-2003" target="_blank">Issues 8-13</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/12/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Vol-4-No-1419-2004" target="_blank">Issues 14-19</a>
Issues 20-32
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/19/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Tales-of-the-TMNT-Vol-2-No-117-200405" target="_blank">"Tales of the TMNT" Volume 2, Issues 1-18</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/21/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Tales-of-the-TMNT-Vol-2-No-1930-2006" target="_blank">"Tales of the TMNT" Volume 2, Issues 19-30</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/23/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Tales-of-the-TMNT-Vol-2-No-3141-2007" target="_blank">"Tales of the TMNT" Volume 2, Issues 31-41</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/24/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Tales-of-the-TMNT-Vol-2-No-4253-2008" target="_blank">"Tales of the TMNT" Volume 2, Issues 42-53</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/25/TMNT-flashback-Mirage-Tales-of-the-TMNT-Vol-2-No-5470-200910" target="_blank">"Tales of the TMNT" Volume 2, Issues 54-70</a>
"Leonardo" miniseries
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/27/TMNT-flashback-Raphael-Michelangelo-and-Donatello-miniseries-200709" target="_blank">"Raphael," "Michelangelo" and "Donatello" miniseries</a>
TMNT MOVIES
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/3/27/TMNT-flashback-Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-1990" target="_blank">"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/4/TMNT-flashback-Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-II-The-Secret-of-the-Ooze-1991" target="_blank">"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze"</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/13/TMNT-flashback-Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-III-1993" target="_blank">"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III"</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/4/15/TMNT-flashback-TMNT-2007" target="_blank">"TMNT"</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2010/3/7/Turtles-Forever-indeed-New-movie-is-a-love-letter-to-oldschool-fans" target="_blank">"Turtles Forever"</a>
OTHER TMNT POSTS
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2009/12/22/What-are-your-favorite-Christmas-stories" target="_blank">"Michaelangelo" one-shot and other favorite Christmas stories</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2010/3/29/The-Turtles-were-Lean-Green-and-on-the-Screen-and-life-was-good" target="_blank">The Turtles were "Lean, Green and on the Screen," and life was good</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2010/4/19/Angry-Video-Game-Nerd-is-pure-nostalgic-bliss--and-anger" target="_blank">Thoughts on the original "TMNT" video game</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/2/19/Love-of-Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-still-lingers-30-years-later" target="_blank">Love of "TMNT" still lingers 30 years later</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/5/6/One-last-30th-anniversary-TMNT-post-Exploring-the-multiverse-12-different-continuities" target="_blank">A look at the various "TMNT" continuities</a>
Movies*Index: TMNT ReviewsTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesComic booksSun, 19 Apr 2015 01:33:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/19/Index-of-my-Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-reviews‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Dawn of the Jedi: Prisoner of Bogan’ (2012-13) and ‘Force War’ (2013-14)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/17/Star-Wars-flashback-Dawn-of-the-Jedi-Prisoner-of-Bogan-201213-and-Force-War-201314
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Wrapping up their <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dawn_of_the_Jedi" target="_blank">"Dawn of the Jedi"</a> trilogy, writer John Ostrander and artist/co-writer Jan Duursema deliver a strong character piece with the five-issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dawn_of_the_Jedi:_The_Prisoner_of_Bogan" target="_blank">"Prisoner of Bogan"</a> (2012-13) and an epic conclusion with the five-issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dawn_of_the_Jedi:_Force_War" target="_blank">"Force War"</a> (2013-14).
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As with a lot of trilogies, part two is the meatiest, as we meet Daegen Lok, who – despite being the hero of the recently concluded civil war in the Tython System -- had been exiled to the moon of Bogan for skewing too close to the dark side. He and the newly exiled Xesh team up, find a ship that Xesh can operate using the Force, and flee to various planets in the system as Je'daii journeyers and masters pursue them.
Despite being a dark-sider, Xesh is sympathetic because the dark side is all he's ever known. It's like if a kidnapped child emerged from a cellar after a decade: We wouldn't expect him to understand cultural norms. As we see in flashbacks, the only positive part of Xesh's upbringing as a Rakatan slave is his bond with fellow human Force hound Trill. But he makes an enemy of her by declining to kill her in a battle, humiliating her by sparing her life.
Additionally, Xesh has lost the memory of the specifics of his time before crash-landing on Tython, so he doesn't realize how evil he's supposed to be – kind of like the "TMNT" episode "Cowabunga, Shredhead," where Shredder acts like Michaelangelo for a day.
I also sympathize with Lok, because being banished to Bogan doesn't seem like fair treatment for a hero because he tapped into the dark side a bit and saw a vision of a dark future in the Chasm. Furthermore, wouldn't it make more sense to banish dark-side users to Ashla rather than Bogan? Even if the concept of Ashla being the light-side moon and Bogan being the dark-side moon is purely metaphorical, psychology tells us that sunlight inspires a positive mood and darkness inspires a negative mood. And indeed, Lok has used his time on Bogan to perfect his dark-side trick of making his enemies experience their worst fears. What's more, Je'daii Ranger Hawk Ryo – who had the same vision as Lok in the Chasm – used his time on Bogan to bury the truth of the vision in order to please his masters.
My feelings toward the Je'daii masters on Tython are in line with how I feel about the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars: I suppose they mean well, but their adherence to tradition too often blinds them to common sense.
"Prisoner of Bogan" concludes with the Rakatan Infinite Empire learning Tython's location from Trill, and "Force War" throws us smack-dab in the middle of the titular war. The leap forward in time between parts two and three seems out of character for Ostrander and Duursema, based on their meticulous story crafting in "Republic" and "Legacy." The truce between the Je'daii leadership and Xesh and Lok happens off-panel, and other truncated concepts include a romance between Trill and Sek'nos Rath and more details about the nature of the conflict in the Despot War, of which Lok was the hero. I suspect Ostrander and Duursema opted to wrap up "Dawn" in just three miniseries due to the rumored shift of the license from Dark Horse to Marvel.
As far as war stories go, "Force Storm" is suitably epic, as the vicious Rakata – who eat their enemies, sometimes while they're still alive – employ mutant monster forms of themselves, called Flesh Raiders, on the battlefield. They also use the life forces of captives, trapped in bubbles, to power their spaceships.
Predor Skal'nas becomes obsessed with finding the Infinity Gate – much as Dalien Brock was in the novel "Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void," set roughly concurrently with the first comic arc, "Force Storm." The Infinity Gate is a leftover piece of technology from the Kwa, earlier Tython settlers who inadvertently unleashed the evil Rakata on the galaxy as part of their humanitarian mission to open up hyperspace gates between worlds. Unlike the standard Kwa hyperspace gate, the Infinity Gate doesn't require a complementary gate at the other end, so it's the ultimate "key to galactic dominance" maguffin.
By the end of "Force War," there's room for more exploration of Lok's dark nature and his conflict with the Je'daii establishment. They want him to destroy his Forcesaber, which is powered by the dark side; he believes he still needs it to clean up stray Flesh Raiders.
Indeed, despite the defeat of the Infinite Empire, the "Dawn of the Jedi" saga leaves some meaty ideas on the table. While it's possible that the authors intended to leave the Tho Yor (the nine pyramid ships that deposited various Force users on Tython a millennium ago) mysterious, I suspect they might've delved more into them if the series had continued.
And since "Dawn" was intended to show the formation of what became the modern Jedi Order, future stories probably would've explored the development of lightsabers that don't require the dark side, plus central Jedi tenets such as the banning of romantic attachments.
Still, considering the outside commercial forces driving this saga, I have to admit Ostrander and Duursema wrap it up in a fairly tidy bow with "Force War."
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksFri, 17 Apr 2015 00:14:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/17/Star-Wars-flashback-Dawn-of-the-Jedi-Prisoner-of-Bogan-201213-and-Force-War-201314‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Dawn of the Jedi: Force Storm’ (2012)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/16/Star-Wars-flashback-Dawn-of-the-Jedi-Force-Storm-2012
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Does "Star Wars" history feel historic enough? My gut reaction is "no" – I felt that way when first exposed to "Tales of the Jedi" (set 4,000-5,000 years before "A New Hope") in 1993 and again with <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dawn_of_the_Jedi" target="_blank">"Dawn of the Jedi"</a> (set 36,453 years before "A New Hope") in 2012. My local comic book dealer expressed a similar opinion that "Dawn" was just another "Star Wars" story with light-side vs. dark-side battles that could happen anywhere on the timeline.
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Don't get me wrong: Once I adjusted to the similarities to the classic trilogy era, I learned to adore the "Tales of the Jedi" saga, and I like a lot of things about "Dawn of the Jedi," which tells of the Jedi Order's formative years. But my sense that "it doesn't feel old enough" lingers. The reason is easy to understand if we place the "Star Wars" timeline and the Earth timeline atop each other, with Luke Skywalker's generation being the equivalent of modern day Earth:
5,000 years ago on Earth: We see early signs of what would become modern civilization. Agriculture and food storage allow people to pursue medicine, mathematics, paper-making and written language. People speaking English during this time would be incomprehensible to speakers of modern American English. If we were to time-travel to this era, adjusting to the language and culture would be frustrating, and we'd probably be killed by something or other in quick order.
5,000 years ago in "Star Wars": In "Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith" and "Fall of the Sith Empire," pioneers are beginning to discover new hyperspace lanes. But other than that, the technology in "Tales of the Jedi" is indistinguishable from the era of Luke Skywalker: lightsabers, blasters, spaceships with hyperdrives, and instantaneous interstellar communication. Immigration and emigration are common throughout the Republic, as a variety of species can be seen on all planets. Technology has not freed beings from manual labor, but nor will it do so 5,000 years later, when Luke is a farmer. Everyone speaks Basic. The vaguely ancient Egyptian feel of the architecture and costumes give the "Tales" comics a superficially historic flavor, arguably bailing out the saga. If Luke were to time-travel to this era, he'd effortlessly fit in.
36,453 years ago on Earth: Modern humans, in a biological sense, are just coming into being. There are no cities or recorded language, although they do use stone tools. If we were to time-travel and visit these humans, assuming they didn't kill us on sight, they might revere us as gods if we unveiled metal-forged tools. Communication through a common spoken language would be impossible.
36,453 years ago in "Star Wars": In "Dawn of the Jedi," scripter John Ostrander and co-creator/artist Jan Duursema show us that hyperdrives, lightsabers and blasters have not yet been invented. However, the mysterious Tho Yor species and the dark-Force-using Rakatan Infinite Empire do have magical equivalents of what would become hyperspace travel, and the Force saber is a magical equivalent (you turn it on with the Force) of what would become the traditional technology-powered lightsaber. Slugthrowers are used instead of blasters. Interplanetary travel within the Tython system is no problem, nor is instant interplanetary communication. Several species co-exist in the Tython system, and the Rakatan Empire keeps several species as slaves – a primitive practice, sure, but one that still goes on during Luke's time. Everyone speaks Basic. Luke could time-travel to this era and have no problem fitting in, except that he'd miss hyperspace travel.
These comparisons illustrate the oddity of the "Star Wars" timeline: Although the "Star Wars" galaxy is obviously more futuristic than modern Earth (particularly in space travel and communication through space), its technology, civilization and culture advances at a pace just slightly above stagnant, whereas ours features comparatively rapid progression. And in some key areas, the "Star Wars" galaxy is shockingly inept. Its war-making abilities are remarkably similar to modern Earth, as biological soldiers and the technique of individuals shooting at individuals are still used into Luke's time. Most notably, the daily life of the average GFFA citizen is about the same as the average modern Earth citizen, in that we both punch clocks and collect paychecks and have a bit of spare time for hobbies. GFFA humans generally have slightly longer lifespans than Earth humans, unless they live on Tatooine, where they age quickly under the twin suns. Luke's farmstead life, in fact, seems physically and financially harder than my life as a member of the lower U.S. economic class.
Considering that "Star Wars" is centrally concerned with the rise and fall of governments, is the Legends saga commenting on the way governments and wars stop and sometimes erase progress, knocking civilization back a few pegs every now and then? Well, considering that the relatively free markets of the Republic peacefully flourish for 1,000 years between Darth Bane and Darth Sidious, yet technological advancements are pretty much nil, I'd say no, the stagnant technology progression is not merely a commentary on heavy handed governance.
So is the "Star Wars" Legends saga a commentary on the technological stagnation that could happen once a galaxy makes the huge leap of being connected by space travel, communications and basic government services? The evidence says yes. However, I don't think this was done on purpose. I think every time an author invented a past event on the "Star Wars" timeline, they erred on the side of making it as ancient as possible – starting with Tom Veitch and George Lucas devising the "Tales of the Jedi" era. Lucas always liked to use big numbers to give his saga an epic scope, going back to Obi-Wan saying "For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice ..." Lucas obviously loves technological advancement – he himself is a pioneer in the movie industry – but he also has a soft spot for nostalgia and permanence, and the latter won out when he laid down the groundwork for galactic lore.
Indeed, it should be noted that Ostrander did not invent the timeframe of "Dawn of the Jedi." He was working from the timeline and history as laid out in 2005's "The New Essential Chronology" by Daniel Wallace and Kevin J. Anderson, which codified references from various books, comics and video games. And more material was written from 2005-12, including Darth Bane exploring the ruins of Tython and Rakata Prime in the "Darth Bane" books. With that in mind, I'm willing to give "Dawn of the Jedi" a fair chance on this re-read. Despite the absence of a sufficiently ancient feel, "Dawn" has the same appeal as Ostrander and Duursema's previous project, "Legacy," in that it carves out a part of the timeline and – in this case – a part of the galaxy.
In the prologue of the five-issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dawn_of_the_Jedi:_Force_Storm" target="_blank">"Dawn of the Jedi: Force Storm,"</a> a millennium before the heart of the story, the Tho Yor drop pyramids full of Force-sensitive settlers on Tython. Showing that different worlds evolve at different rates, the Wookiee culture on Kashyyyk, the Twi'lek culture on Ryloth and the Nightsister culture on Dathomir are identical to Luke's era, but Ostrander portrays Tatooine as "a lush world" with "gleaming cities" and "blue seas."
After this set-up, common "Star Wars" tropes drive "Dawn of the Jedi." Tython is a planet-wide Jedi academy. (In his one nod to making the language feel a little bit ancient, Ostrander uses the term "Je'daii" – the same pronunciation used by the Yuuzhan Vong, although I think it's coincidence.) Everyone who lives there is a Force-user who spends time in the nine Tho Yor pyramids – now temples offering distinct fields of study -- across the planet's surface.
The planet's very climatic and tectonic stability is dependent on these Force users keeping themselves in balance. Tython has two moons that pull on it – Ashla, always in the light, and Bogan, always in the dark; those who venture too much into the dark side are banished to Bogan. The names of the moons are taken from Lucas' early drafts of "The Star Wars," as are the Dai Bendu monks, who are transported from Ando Prime to Tython in one of the nine pyramid ships.
Non-Force-users populate the system's other planets because Tython is seen as too dangerous for them. This creates tension between Tython and the other planets – indeed, a civil war wrapped up merely a decade before the main action of "Force Storm."
The second prominent trope is interstellar warfare. The Rakatan Infinite Empire's first salvo in making war with Tython comes with the crash-landing of Xesh, a human who was raised as an obedient Force hound of his Rakatan master (or "predor"). Having no experience with the light side, he is utterly confused to find himself saving the life of the beautiful Dathomiri human Shae Koda.
As with "Republic" and "Legacy," the Ostrander/Duursema team creates almost too many characters, but they are distinct enough in look and personality that a reader can keep them straight, and "Dawn" quickly grows into a vibrant saga. A trio of up-and-coming Je'daii journeyers are the protagonists: the aforementioned Shae; the humanoid Sek'nos Rath, who draws the eye of all the young women on Tython; and the Twi'lek Tasha Ryo, the rather timid daughter of a crime lord father and a Je'daii mother.
Shae spares Xesh because he tells her she is brave warrior who should have the honor of eating his heart – the cultural divide is so vast that Shae wants to learn more about Xesh before judging him. This is where another "Star Wars" trope comes in – the clash of generations. The Je'daii leadership votes to banish Xesh to Bogan (thus setting up the next miniseries) rather than pursue the matter further.
The planet itself has some neat aspects, although I got confused between two separate cuts into Tython's surface: The Rift is a valley filled with dangerous seismic activity, whereas the Chasm (which I recall from the novel "Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Storm," set further along the timeline) is even more foreboding. Je'daii who descend too far down the Chasm have visions that cause them to go crazy.
Perched above the Chasm is one of the nine pyramids, Anil Kesh, the Temple of Science. The winged rancor ridden by Shae is not an ancestor of rancors from Luke's era, but rather an artificial creation. That's yet another example of "Dawn of the Jedi's" lack of ancient feel: The science (albeit Force-based rather than tech-based) is actually more advanced than in Luke's time!
Still, viewed simply as a "Star Wars" yarn chronicling the beginning of the Jedi Order in an evocative setting, I can't be too hard on this first installment of "Dawn of the Jedi."
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksThu, 16 Apr 2015 00:07:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/16/Star-Wars-flashback-Dawn-of-the-Jedi-Force-Storm-2012‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Legacy Volume II’ Issues 11-18 (2014)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/15/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Volume-II-Issues-1118-2014
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When the writer of a serialized TV show or comic book series gets word of the project's cancellation and has only a few episodes or issues to wrap it up, they have three options: 1) to not change their plans at all, and just let the story end mid-stream, 2) to stick with their planned story but add an emotional coda, or 3) to cram in as much of the planned story as possible and rush to the end point.
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"Star Wars" writers had rarely been put in this position through the years, but there are some examples. Marvel "Star Wars" Volume 1 used Option 3 when it was canceled with Issue 107, cramming every plot resolution into one issue; Michael Stackpole's "Rogue Squadron" chose Option 2, as Syal Antilles Fel's fate was left dangling; and "The Clone Wars" took Option 1 by default, as the writers weren't given a choice -- although, by accident, the on-screen finale where Ahsoka leaves and the DVD finale where Yoda battles dream visions ended up being nice codas by coincidence.
The "Ewoks" cartoon wasn't serialized, but some fans theorize that writer Paul Dini cranked out the episode with Ewoks on a Star Destroyer in a "Why the hell not?" moment when the series was cancelled.
In 2014, the four ongoing comics took different approaches upon getting the news of their cancellations. "Dark Times" took Option 2, as the heroes survived a showdown with Darth Vader but kept on fighting, whereas Brian Wood was too early in his build-up of story elements to take anything other than Option 1 with the ongoing "Star Wars." I'll get to "Dawn of the Jedi" in a future post. That leaves <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Legacy_Volume_2" target="_blank">"Legacy Volume II,"</a> where writer Corinna Bechko took Option 3 – cramming in a bunch of resolutions.
I generally loathe Option 3, as it made the end of "Dollhouse" into a confusing mess and made the end of "Angel" feel rushed. Come to think of it, the final panel of "Legacy Volume II" is reminiscent of "Angel's" "entering the fray" conclusion, as Ania, Sauk, AG-37 and Jao come out with blasters blazing against an unknown foe.
But Bechko handles the final condensed arc pretty well. I don't know if "Legacy Volume II" would've ever matched the heights of "Legacy" if it had gone the equivalent 56 issues, but even with only 18 issues it carved out a niche. Like its predecessor, this was "Star Wars" in broad strokes, but Bechko came up with crazily creative ideas that made this title stand out, and the gritty art by Gabriel Hardman and Brian Albert Thies fit the mood. In "Wanted: Ania Solo" (Issues 11-15), Ania is stalked by a bounty hunter across a bleak planet where it rains glass! (Or should that be "transparisteel?")
I like the concept of "Empire of One" (16-18). We learn that Darth Wredd's plan was to lure all the Sith to one location to be defeated by him and Triumvirate forces. Then Wredd – who, by the way, wears a helmet like Skorr from the Goodwin/Williamson strips -- stabs Empress Fel so the Triumvirate will kill him, thus ending the Sith line. To summarize: Wredd was a good Force-user whose anger made him a Sith, but who retained enough goodness to realize he should be killed for the good of the galaxy, as it will mark the end of the Sith Order. Now that I type that, I realize I could be describing Darth Vader's arc, but I didn't make the comparison when reading the story.
On the downside, we don't find out the specifics of AG-37's loyalty to the Solo family. It's possible that Bechko didn't intend to go beyond the droid's explanation of: "She is a Solo. I made a promise to a Solo once. That's really all there is to know." But I doubt it.
Similarly, we gets hints of Ania's knowledge of her family tree when she says she thinks she's a distant cousin of Empress Marasiah Fel. Sauk is surprised to learn Ania is a member of THAT Solo lineage, an indication that the Solo name is prominent in the history books of this time, much like the Skywalker name, as we learned in "Legacy," where for a while Cade didn't want people to know his surname.
For the record, Ania is correct: They are both the third generation after Jagged Fel and Jaina Solo. Marasiah is directly descended from Jagged and Jaina (as stated in "Legacy"), whereas it's not explicitly stated that Ania is, but we do know from the "Legacy Volume II" guide in the "Empire of One" TPB than Han is her great-great-grandfather. Ania could possibly be descended from Jacen and Tenel Ka, with Allana being Ania's grandmother, but the numbers don't crunch as well in that scenario. Most likely, both Marasiah and Ania have Jagged and Jaina as great-grandparents.
At the end of "Empire of One," "Legacy" heroes Cade, Blue and Jariah make a cameo as they sell a spaceship part to Sauk. (It's implied that they kind of rip him off. Still, it's nice to see they are doing what makes them happy.) But despite the introduction of the massive Sith army, we never see any of the specific Darths who starred in "Legacy" and then scattered throughout the galaxy to build up bases of power. I feel like Bechko would've brought these Sith into the Floating World battle if the series progressed as originally intended, but she didn't want them to feel tacked on to the rushed ending.
Issue 18 -- the last "Star Wars" comic published by Dark Horse -- includes what some fans see as a subtle jab at Disney for cancelling the Expanded Universe, and a prediction that these stories will find a way to go on. After Imperial Knight Val tells Empress Fel the Sith are gone from the galaxy and it's the end of history, she says: "Oh, I don't know. History has a way of ... continuing." At this point it seems highly unlikely this story will continue. But I guess it doesn't hurt to hold out a shred of hope.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksWed, 15 Apr 2015 02:18:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/15/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Volume-II-Issues-1118-2014‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Legacy Volume II’ Issues 1-10 (2013)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/14/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Volume-II-Issues-110-2013
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After Cade Skywalker's saga came to a natural conclusion in 2011, Dark Horse launched two new titles to satiate fans of "Legacy." The work of John Ostrander and Jan Duursema could be found in "Dawn of the Jedi," which started in 2012, while the "Legacy" era continued in <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Legacy_Volume_2" target="_blank">"Legacy Volume II"</a> in 2013. Although both were intended to be ongoing titles, they were canceled when the "Star Wars" license switched to Marvel – "Dawn" after 15 issues and "Legacy Volume II" after 18.
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Co-written by Corinna Bechko and drawn by Gabriel Hardman, "Legacy Volume II" is set 138 years after "A New Hope," right after the conclusion of Cade's adventures. At the end of Ostrander's "Legacy: War" Issue 6, a Galactic Federation Triumvirate declared its rule of the galaxy in the wake of wiping out Darth Krayt's Sith Empire. This new government aims to set up communications arrays all the way to the Outer Rim to show the citizenry its goodwill. At no point do the authors explain how the Triumvirate government is funded, if a planet's allegiance to the Triumvirate is voluntary or mandatory, or – most crucially – how three different philosophies can share rule.
The Triumvirate consists of the Empire, the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi, through the personages of Empress Fel, Admiral Gar Stazi and Master K'Kruhk, respectively. They often bicker with each other. For example, Fel uses the word "Empire" to describe the government, K'Kruhk chastises her and she says "You know what I mean."
But, of course, an empire and an alliance are – or, at least, should be -- different things. Based on what we know of these organizations throughout "Star Wars" lore, particularly in the wake of "Legacy":
• The Empire is a mix of communism and Catholicism. It desires for the state to control all markets and claims its divine right to rule through the Force, as embodied by its Papal equivalent, the emperor or empress. The one failsafe is that an Imperial Knight may kill the emperor if he strays from the light side; indeed, Antares Draco kills the genocide-seeking Emperor Roan Fel at the end of "Legacy," citing this dictum.
• The Galactic Republic is analogous to the modern United States. Broadly speaking, competition is allowed in most industries, but the state wields a heavy regulatory hand and taxes almost everything. Like the Empire, it boasts a strong military (indeed, Admiral Gar Stazi's fleet is the only aspect of the G.A. seen in "Legacy"), but whereas the Empire is prone to conquer worlds, the G.A. is more likely to seek voluntary memberships.
• The Jedi are the oddest part of the Triumvirate, because ruling over others is not part of the Jedi philosophy. While presumably funded by taxpayers through a pact with the G.A. (and before that, the New Republic and the Old Republic), one gets the sense that the Jedi would not use military or police force to acquire those funds if the pact was dissolved. Although they made a major misstep during the Clone Wars by choosing a side, the Jedi are traditionally "the guardians of peace and justice" and arbiters of disputes, not an organization that has a stake in one person's, party's or government's power.
On the character front, "Legacy II" features Ania Solo, a junk dealer in the Carreras System whose outlook is similar to Cade Skywalker's: She just wants to be left alone to make a living. She's a bit nobler than Cade, who as a pirate subscribed to the "take from criminals and give to me" philosophy. Ania tends to operate above-board, although when she acquires a lightsaber she makes an enemy of the Carreras Major police force, which is reducing crime in totalitarian fashion so it can impress the Triumvirate and assure it that putting a comm array there was the right choice.
The "Legacy Volume II" guide at the back of the fourth trade paperback states that Han is Ania's great-great grandfather, just as I assume Luke to be Cade's great-great-grandfather. A quick mathematical calculation suggests that Jaina is probably Ania's great-grandmother rather than Jacen being Ania's great-grandfather and Allana being Ania's grandmother. There are too many years between Allana's life and Ania's to account for only one generation, whereas two generations could fit between Jaina and Ania. It is unknown why Ania's last name is Solo rather than Fel.
Along for the adventure with Ania are her Mon Cal friend Sauk, the reprogrammed assassin droid AG-37 and Imperial Knight Jao Assam. As the Triumvirate and Imperial Knight Yalta Val (Darth Wredd's titular "Prisoner of the Floating World" in Issues 1-5) wring their hands, Ania's group resolves to go after Darth Wredd, believing he is a serious threat to galactic peace. IG-88 lookalike AG-37 is the most intriguing link to Ania's past, as he tells her he is looking after her because he always repays his debts (presumably to Han). He also informs her that her bloodline isn't solely one of royalty (a lifestyle and status Ania rejects on philosophical grounds), as Han Solo was a smuggler and a hero.
While I would choose Duursema's clean lines and consistent likenesses over Hardman's dark, stylized work if given the choice, the grittier style fits "Legacy Volume II." Bechko comes up with great set pieces, including a sunless planet hidden within a nebula and the idea that the Triumvirate has given up on the Dac system, opening it up to chaos or villainy. "Outcasts of the Broken Ring" (6-10) shows us that Darth Luft has taken over the Dac shipyards and is using slave labor to construct a military fleet. It's particularly insidious that he lures Mon Cala and Quarren back to their poisoned homeworld with the false promise of a restoration project.
An underwater rescue on the empty, poisoned Dac – complete with skeletons – is eerie, and another imaginative set piece comes when water-filled holds on the shipyards get opened to space, where the water turns to ice. In one dramatic sequence, our heroes attempt to shut the airlock before the ice cracks.
At the end of Ostrander's "Legacy," we saw that Darths Nihl, Maladi, Talon and Wyyrlok IV are out there in the galaxy, but Bechko opts not to use them in these first 10 issues. Darths Wredd and Luft are not particularly original, with their broad desires to rule to the galaxy (although I do like how Wredd uses Ania's group as a weapon against Luft). But on the other hand, the fragile Triumvirate structure is a pot ready to boil over, and I'm enjoying the main characters and their relationships.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 14 Apr 2015 21:33:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/14/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Volume-II-Issues-110-2013‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Legacy’ Issues 48-50 (2010) and ‘War’ (2010-11)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/13/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Issues-4850-2010-and-War-201011
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Writer John Ostrander brings together all the myriad factions of <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Legacy" target="_blank">"Legacy"</a> in two final, epic arcs – "Extremes," Issues 48-50 (2010), and the six-issue miniseries <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Legacy%E2%80%94War" target="_blank">"Legacy: War"</a> (2010-11). The Fel Empire, the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi unite against the Sith Empire. Additionally, the non-Sith members of the Sith Empire finally realize the Sith are 1) evil and 2) using them for their own ends, and they defect to the Allied forces.
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Considering the care with which Ostrander – with a serious assist from main artist and co-creator Jan Duursema – constructed the geopolitics of "Legacy," it's perhaps nitpicky to bring up an underexplored group: the citizens of the galaxy. Granted, earlier in the series, we saw some refugees when they are in the war's crosshairs: the Mon Calamari, who lose 80 percent of their population to a Sith poison. Other than that, John Q. Public is invisible in "Legacy."
And yet Average Joe and Average Jane are at the heart of "War" when Emperor Roan Fel argues for the use of the poison Omega Red to wipe out the entire Coruscant populace. Darth Maladi, a captive of Fel's Empire, says she'll give the bioweapon to Fel if he'll kill Cade Skywalker for her. Omega Red is the next evolution of Alpha Red, from the "New Jedi Order" series, which was designed to wipe out the entire Yuuzhan Vong species. In that book series, characters discussed whether Alpha Red was a morally allowable weapon of war, and the debate picks up between Fel and Imperial Knight Antares Draco here.
Fel: "There are no innocents on Coruscant! They are all collaborators with the Sith!"
This raises an interesting question: How far should we extend responsibility for a government's actions? A couple "Legacy" flashback posts ago, I looked at the question of whether "just following orders" absolves one from moral guilt over an evil act, or if a soldier should also look at the morality of what he is ordered to do. That continues to be a central theme of these final issues. Indeed, Draco reluctantly kills Fel, citing a moral duty that supersedes following orders: "If the emperor himself strays, to bring him back to the light – or kill him if he will not (come back to the light)."
Modern thought about responsibility of a government's evils almost always includes those in leadership positions, and it sometimes (but rarely) encompasses soldiers who are carrying out orders. But it almost never extends to the citizenry at large, which is why we as readers automatically reject Fel's claim in the quote above.
In the United States, we are presented with a choice every tax season: 1) pay taxes according the rules set forth by the government, or 2) go to prison. So when a Yemeni village is drone-bombed by the U.S. military, we as citizens paid for it, but I argue that we bear no moral responsibility because we weren't given the option to not pay for it (other than going to prison). By the same logic, I don't blame a Coruscant citizen for the Sith's atrocities, even though they are funding it. (Sith tax structure is not outlined in "Legacy." But I am assuming for the sake of argument that Sith Empire citizens don't fund their government out of the goodness of their hearts. In fact, I assume tax cheats are summarily executed.)
Bringing this topic full circle, I think government leaders should be held morally responsible for their actions, regardless of their reasoning for doing so. Roan Fel is using a classic "ends justifies the means" argument when he says: "There is no weapon I would not use to defeat Darth Krayt!" To Fel, the death of all Coruscanti is within the bounds of allowable collateral damage, just as the U.S. military has an "acceptable loss" threshold when planning drone strikes in the Middle East.
On a more personal level, "Legacy: War" gives us Cade vs. Krayt, Round III. I was somewhat surprised to see Cade declare "I know who I am. I'm a Jedi!" I had always admired Cade for being suspicious of all governments (or quasi-governmental agencies, in the case of the Jedi Order). On the other hand, the Jedi Order of Cade's time perhaps shouldn't be equated with the Jedi Order that nearly expelled Ahsoka Tano on a false charge in "The Clone Wars" TV series. But on yet another hand, K'Kruhk and T'ra Saa are around for both eras.
Ostrander does wisely warn that Darth Krayt's death does not mean the galaxy will be free from this point forward. Liberty-lovers must always be vigilant, because governmental structures are by their very nature prone to corruption. Indeed, the surviving Sith (including Darths Nihl, Maladi and Talon, plus Wyyrlok's daughter) intend to "infiltrate governments on every planet" and start the cycle anew.
The problems of making a saga increasingly epic, of feeling like you have to top yourself with each successive battle, creep into these climactic issues. In "Extremes," Krayt suddenly has cyborg Sith troopers (his way of getting around the loyalty problem inherent with free-thinking Sith) in his ranks, as well as ships those troopers can meld with. (I would've been more willing to buy it if I saw Vul Isen or Darth Maladi creating those troopers in past issues.) At the same time, some compelling dramas – notably Azlyn Rae blaming Cade for her condition – are excised from the narrative; that's not a good trade-off.
And when Cade kills Krayt, how do we know he's really dead this time? Ostrander's answer is that Cade will shoot Krayt's body into Coruscant's sun. It leads to a poetic callback, though. Having ejected from his ship, Cade floats in space, like he did as a teenager after the Battle of Ossus. Ostrander gives us a poignant play on the galaxy's most famous surname: "Just me at the end ... walkin' in the sky."
While "Legacy" got a bit overblown toward the end, it was a great ride that smartly juggled its bevy of characters and organizations without getting confusing (if you read the series in fairly rapid succession). It's one of only three long-running titles to be planned out and written in a coordinated way, and I give it a slight edge over its competition. John Jackson Miller's "Knights of the Old Republic" leaned experimental and Randy Stradley's "Dark Times" leaned poetic (and never reached a conclusion, due to its cancellation), whereas Ostrander's "Legacy" blended all the elements of the classic trilogy in a fresh way.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 13 Apr 2015 02:03:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/13/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Issues-4850-2010-and-War-201011‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Legacy’ Issues 41-47 (2009-10)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/12/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-4147-200910
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A major impetus behind launching a series set four generations after Luke Skywalker was that it gave the writer freedom to chronicle a fresh part of the timeline. But by the time of <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Legacy" target="_blank">"Legacy"</a> Issues 41-47 (2009-10), a big appeal of John Ostrander's saga is the way it ties back to the wider mythos.
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Although "Legacy" could theoretically be enjoyed by someone who knows nothing about "Star Wars" in general, it gains more heft when we see the Sith Empire's genocidal policy against the Mon Calamari, a species that has been on the side of freedom and liberty dating back to "The Clone Wars" TV series; when we see the latest batch of Rogue Squadron pilots in action; and when we recall the Yuuzhan Vong's Embrace of Pain from "The New Jedi Order" saga. Even something as small as the mention of Dac's aquatic whaladons, one of the few elements from "The Glove of Darth Vader" to catch on, shows that Ostrander approaches this material from a fan's perspective.
As "Legacy" moves forward, it has also filled in the years preceding Issue 1. "Monster" (Issues 43-46) is the best example so far, as we see Darth Maladi – with help from twisted Yuuzhan Vong shaper Zenoc Quah -- is the one who sabotaged the Kol Skywalker/Yuuzhan Vong mission to renew planets such as Wayland that had been ravaged way back in the "New Jedi Order" saga.
While this is far from a complete picture of the time between the lives of Ben Skywalker and his great-grandson, Cade, it's enough. We know that three generations of Darth Wyyrloks were keeping Darth Krayt in stasis during this period, and I like to think that there were no major galactic villains actively threatening Luke, Leia and Han in the third act of their lives, after the events of the novel "Crucible." They deserve at least that much peace.
Speaking of Darth Krayt, Wyyrlok and Cade (who both played a part in Krayt's death back in Issue 26) are confident the Sith lord is dead, and Wyyrlok has placed Krayt's corpse in a Korriban stasis chamber so that he may rule in his stead. At the end of "The Fate of Dac" (47), however, only Krayt's armor is in the chamber, setting forward a nice mystery as "Legacy" enters its final stretch. Did Darth Talon steal the body? Or was it Wyyrlok's daughter? Or is Krayt somehow alive?
In "Monster," Cade overcomes the pull of the Sith and saves Deliah Blue from the Embrace of Pain using the light side of the Force. Stories about Force-users succumbing to the dark side have become far too common, so it's nice to see that Cade is a different kind of hero – not Jedi, not Sith, just a Force-user with a good heart. The page showing flashbacks of Cade's relationship with Blue is powerful.
Ostrander has always peppered smaller character pieces into Cade's saga, and in this batch we get two more. "Rogue's End" (41) brings Mandalorians into "Legacy" for the first time via the backstory of Hondo Karr, a Mando who posed as an Imperial by necessity (thus shedding new light on "Noob," Issue 4, when we met Karr as a stormtrooper) and later joined Rogue Squadron.
"Divided Loyalties" (42) chronicles one of the most disturbing ways the evil Sith Empire manipulates its citizens' behavior: via threats to loved ones. Mon Cal Ranger shipman Tealart attempts to assassinate Galactic Alliance Admiral Gar Stazi, hoping to parlay the act into a deal for his family's safety. "You are forgiven, but not excused," says Stazi, who adds that Tealart will be "court-martialed, found guilty and executed" by the G.A. military.
A couple posts ago, I guessed that the Sith Empire overplayed its hand with its policy of genocide, and we start to see the backlash from the galaxy at large in "The Fall of Dac." Good Samaritans from all over, including Cade's uncle Bantha, haul citizens away from Dac in the face of a plague unleashed by Sith scientist Vul Isen (a great use of the "Scream"-mask-faced Givin species). We're primarily following the superpowered and military heroes – from Cade to Hondo Karr – in "Legacy," but as history teaches us, it's ultimately the citizenry at large that says "no more" to an oppressive regime.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSun, 12 Apr 2015 00:45:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/12/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-4147-200910‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Legacy’ Issues 32-40 (2009)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/11/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Issues-3240-2009
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George Lucas was interested in the dangers of humans melding with machines, but that concept was buried by the time he got to the final drafts of his "Star Wars" films. The machine aspects of Darth Vader and General Grievous (and Lumiya and the Hunter, if you delve into the Expanded Universe) were emblematic but arguably superfluous, because – regardless of what they looked like – their evil came from their human half, not their machine half.
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"The Star Wars," the comic adaptation of an early draft of what eventually became "A New Hope," shows how strongly Lucas linked cyborgs with inhumanity. "There is nothing left of me but my head and right arm!" Annikin Starkiller says. Not trusting himself due to being a cyborg, Annikin asks Skywalker to take over Kane's training. (It'd be interesting to know if Lucas' views on the subject have changed as we move into an age where technology is extending and enhancing people's lives – and they aren't turning evil.)
One of the wonderful aspects of <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Legacy" target="_blank">"Legacy"</a> is that it takes the classic themes of "Star Wars" but emphasizes different elements; this is particularly apparent in Issues 32-40 (2009). In "Storms" (Issues 34-35), Cade's Force powers and his Aunt Droo's medical abilities allow them to save the life of Cade's old flame, Azlyn Rae, but she's encased in a suit that pumps bacta into her veins and breathes for her. "Sometimes I can't feel anything at all! I'd rather be dead!" she says, and it seems Cade has inadvertently created an enemy.
Azlyn is also resentful that Cade didn't honor her request to let her die, similar to Buffy's initial disgust at being yanked out of heaven by her well-meaning friends in "Buffy" Season 6. Still, one wonders if being part machine might indeed enhance a person's darker feelings. Unlike most cyborgs in "Star Wars," Azlyn was a good person at the time of her transformation, so she might be the best outlet for exploring this theme.
But even if "Legacy" explores the tortured life of cyborgs more than Lucas did, writer John Ostrander can't help but get back to the saga's core family dynamic, particularly in "Tatooine" (37-40). Cade is sought by Sith Empire agent Gunner Yage, whom he doesn't realize is his half-sister. Ostrander and artist Jan Duursema have fun with squeamish readers by having the duo almost kiss, but luckily Yage hates Cade's guts.
Also back on the scene is Sith Empire agent Morrigan Corde, whom Cade knows is his mom, although he wants nothing to do with her due to Morrigan's abandoning of him and his father, Kol Skywalker. Until a corrupt moff tells her so, Yage does not realize that Corde is actually her mother, too; Yage knows that her mother is Nyna Calixte, but she doesn't know Calixte and Corde are the same person. Whew.
Setting the soap-opera drama aside for a moment, the highlight of "Tatooine" is a long dream sequence where Cade argues with the ghost of Luke, his great-great grandfather (by my calculation, although it isn't explicitly stated), at the Lars farmstead. Luke's warnings about Cade slipping to the dark side are smug enough that I side with Cade. But on the other hand, Luke makes a fair point, and Cade's eyes had been getting a bit "Sithy," as Syn put it.
Cade: "I'm not a Sith or a Jedi! I'm not like my father, or your father, or you. I just want to be left alone!"
Luke: "You've proclaimed who you are. But the galaxy is not going to leave you alone. Ever."
We also learn in "Storms" that Droo is a descendant of the Clan Vos; Quinlan Vos was the protagonist of Ostrander's "Republic" comics.
Keeping with the revelations of family ties, "Fight Another Day" (32-33) explicitly states that Emperor (of the non-Sith Empire) Roan Fel is the grandson of Jagged Fel and the third Emperor in the family dynasty (following Jag and Jag's son). Since Jag and Jaina Solo were married at the end of the now-canceled Legends novels timeline, it's likely that Roan is also of the Solo bloodline. So Cade's family and Fel's family (and Quinlan's family) would share the same family tree if you branched it out enough.
Yet another family tie is introduced in "Storms," as we meet Darth Wyyrlok's daughter, who is being groomed as the fourth Darth Wyyrlok. Of all the political scheming in "Legacy," Wyyrlok's is the boldest: He has killed Darth Krayt, but he pretends that Krayt is in stasis on Korriban so that he may rule, allegedly by proxy. In "Tatooine," Wyyrlok further appoints Grand Admiral Morlish Veed (Calixte/Morrigan's husband) to serve as his regent. Thus, Wyyrlok gets to wield power without having a target on his back, making him one of the smartest villains in "Star Wars" lore.
"Fight Another Day" is an outstanding exploration of loyalty to another kind of family unit: the military. Although such loyalty is almost universally considered to be a good thing, some argue that a soldier may disobey an order if he has a moral disagreement with it. Ostrander creates a scenario where one's moral conscience clearly must rank ahead of being a loyal soldier. Imperial Knight Sinde is on Dac as a consultant to the Mon Cal people. Because Sinde's Fel Empire and the Sith Empire were once the same Empire, Sinde encounters several former colleagues, including one he kills in battle.
Sinde: "His crimes? Obedience and loyalty."
Tanquar (Mon Cal rebel leader): "No, Master Sinde ... his crime was genocide. ... I shed no tears for him. He was my enemy. He made his choice."
"Renegade" (36) continues to delve into the troublesome logistics of the Galactic Alliance and Fel Empire forming an alliance against the Sith Empire. Some of the military men want to win the battle at any costs, others seek to spare lives – again, orders and morality come into conflict.
Suffice it to say that the G.A./Fel Empire alliance is in place by the end of "Renegade," so that should make for clearer battle lines among governments as "Legacy" moves forward. Meanwhile, the various families in the series aren't so stable -- particularly Cade's, as he leaves ticked-off relatives in his wake. Luke pulled Anakin back from the dark side, but if Cade needs someone to do the same for him, who will it be?
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSat, 11 Apr 2015 01:36:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/11/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Issues-3240-2009‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Dark Times’ Issues 23-32 (2013)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/9/Star-Wars-flashback-Dark-Times-Issues-2332-2013
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<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dark_Times" target="_blank">"Dark Times"</a> checks back in with Master K'Kruhk for "Fire Carrier," Issues 23-27 (2013), which – despite not being drawn by Douglas Wheatley (Gabriel Guzman's crisp art isn't a bad substitute, though) – is my favorite arc from the series, and one of the elite arcs among all "Star Wars" comics.
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By this point, "Dark Times" had established itself as having a big heart due to the makeshift family formed by two groups -- the Uhumele crew (whom we'll revisit shortly) and the younglings under K'Kruhk's charge – but also a dark underbelly, as we see some of the galaxy's grimmest depredations. A high bar (or low bar, as it were) was set back in the opening arc, "The Path to Nowhere," when Bomo's daughter is purchased, killed and eaten by a slaver cannibal. "Fire Carrier" arguably does that one better as the Arkinnea militia, in a parallel to Nazi Germany, hauls refugees to the promise of settlements in the north via an ore hauler. It empties the bottom hatches, dropping refugees to their deaths on the rocks below.
Against this harrowing backdrop, writer Randy Stradley explores noble Imperial officers. Commander Teron and Captain Denimoor served under K'Kruhk at the Battle of Saleucami (although they aren't referenced in those issues of "Republic"). They arrest the mass-murdering militia members, and Teron helps fund and supply K'Kruhk's makeshift Jedi academy in the backwoods of Arkinnea. "Those who do (speak positively about the Jedi) are immediately arrested and never heard from again. But some of us remember the good the Jedi did," Teron tells K'Kruhk. After a few years of Teron supplying seeds every spring as promised, K'Kruhk's group doesn't hear from him again, and he never appears in another "Star Wars" story. It makes for a poignant epilogue.
While not as masterful as "Fire Carrier," "A Spark Remains," Issues 28-32 (2013), is a nice denouement to the series, even though it wasn't intended to be the finale (Dark Horse's loss of the "Star Wars" license in the Disney purchase meant "Dark Times" was canceled). Stradley and Wheatley return the lens to Dass Jennir and the Uhumele crew, who intend to make a play to assassinate Darth Vader. They know they'll die in the attempt, but the fatalistic undertone gives way to hope in the final pages, as most of the crew survives to fight another day (needless to say, so does Vader).
I like how Stradley brings back Jedi Master Kai Hudorra, who dumped his lightsaber in a Coruscant garbage chute and opted to carve out a life as a gambler back in "Republic" Issues 79-80. Finally realizing that it was Jennir who made the correct decision to keep on fighting the Empire, Hudorra sacrifices himself to save our "Dark Times" heroes in the showdown on Kestavel. We never find out what happened to Hudorra's Padawan, Noirah Na, though. Again, while some lingering fates provide a certain poetry to the aftermath of Order 66, it's even better when story points link together.
Speaking of which, the Emperor had told Vader in previous arcs that he had a plan to deal with renegade Jedi. In "A Spark Remains," we find out that plan consists of one dark Jedi, the Verpine Beyghor Sahdett, who had been traveling with the Uhumele. So "Dark Times" misses an opportunity to explore Palpatine's training of the various Imperial dark-side adepts and inquisitors here.
The most lingering holes in the Legends continuity left by "Dark Times' " cancellation, though, are the fates of the various Jedi. From the K'Kruhk storyline, there's darkness-touched youngling Sidirri and Master Zao, who goes after her when she runs off. Stradley said in an interview that he always intended Sidirri to go on to become the unnamed female Force-user who seeks to become Vader's apprentice in the "Empire" arc "Betrayal." While that's cool behind-the-scenes information, it would've been better to see a transitional story in comic form, perhaps with Sidirri killing Zao.
K'Kruhk, for his part, pops up again in "Legacy," as Whiphids are a long-lived species. And it's implied that he hooks up with the Skywalker/Solo clan at some point, as he delivers R2-D2 into the care of Cade Skywalker. But it's weird that the budding Jedi on Arkinnea are never heard from again. K'Kruhk doesn't even explain what happened to them when he returns in "Legacy." It would've been perfect if they – and perhaps Dass Jennir -- had emerged around the time of the "Jedi Academy Trilogy," when it was safe for Jedi to come out of hiding. But of course, those books had already been written and populated with their own Jedi.
Someone reading the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe materials in chronological order would find it unsatisfying that Jennir, the Uhumele crew and K'Kruhk's young Jedi – all of whom are invested in striking blows against the Empire, not merely surviving -- disappear from the overall narrative without explanation.
On the other hand, "Dark Times" goes down as masterful series with Stradley doing his most polished writing and Wheatley doing art-gallery level work. If a fans' goal is simply to consume the best "Star Wars" stories, "Dark Times" should be on the short list.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksThu, 09 Apr 2015 00:16:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/9/Star-Wars-flashback-Dark-Times-Issues-2332-2013‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Dark Times’ Issues 0, 13-22 (2009-12)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/8/Star-Wars-flashback-Dark-Times-Issues-0-1322-200912
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After a couple of arcs focusing on the Uhumele crew, author Randy Stradley and artist Douglas Wheatley return to Jedi Dass Jennir – who went his own way after Issue 5 – for the next two arcs in <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dark_Times" target="_blank">"Dark Times."</a> As a means of catching readers up with Jennir, Issue 0 is the first issue of "Blue Harvest," which continues in Issues 13-17 (2009-10). Jennir's adventures then move directly into "Out of the Wilderness," Issues 18-22 (2011-12).
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Stradley (who goes by the pen name Mick Harrison on "Blue Harvest" but then begins to use his real name on "Wilderness") gives Jennir traits of both of the other main characters in the ongoing "Star Wars" titles: As a Padawan, Jennir was considered to be not very strong in the Force by his master (similar to Zayne Carrick in "Knights of the Old Republic"), and he has the ability to heal others with the Force (like Cade Skywalker in "Legacy").
Still, Jennir distinguishes himself. So far, there's been no talk of Jennir tapping into the dark side to heal people, a constant worry of Cade's companions. And I think we're told about his weak Force skills so we don't mistake him with Superman. Rather, Jennir is the Jedi equivalent of "24's" Jack Bauer: He's a man of high moral character and surprising wells of physical stamina who does what needs to be done for the good of the masses – all by himself, if necessary. And, like Jack, the more bad guys Jennir kills, the less he chastises himself for it; while he becomes hardened, he doesn't become dark.
In need of a job, Jennir comes upon a war between slavers and spicers who are terrorizing a community on Telerath, and so he wipes them all out. "Blue Harvest," of course, was the fake movie title used to keep fans away from the California/Arizona desert set of "Return of the Jedi." It was also the name of an "Ewoks" episode, for no apparent reason, and a 1990s "Star Wars" fanzine. Joe Schreiber's 2010 "Star Wars" horror novel "Red Harvest" riffed on the title while also referencing the book's bloody swath of violence. "Dark Times' " "Blue Harvest" has a similar meaning: The slavers are Chagrians and the spicers are T'surr; both species are blue-skinned and have blue blood.
Due to Wheatley's deliberate pace, more than a year passed before "Out of the Wilderness" hit the shelves. But, as always, it was worth the wait. While he might not be every fans' No. 1 favorite artist, there's no denying he's the best visual storyteller among "Star Wars" artists, almost to the point where he deserves a co-credit with Stradley. When the Uhumele crew lands on Telerath in Jennir's wake, we can see from a glance at the backgrounds that it's a more peaceful place thanks to Jennir's efforts. A more mundane example of Wheatley's attention to detail is that the length of Jennir's facial hair reflects his access to shaving equipment. And a sadder example comes with each time we check in on Janks, the former Uhumele member who is almost literally rotting away in an Imperial prison cell.
The consummate hero, Jennir doesn't just wipe out the bad guys on Telerath, he also takes one of the borderline baddies with him, knowing she will not survive long now that there's been a changing of the guard. Ember ran a hotel/brothel/safehouse where she used slaves rather than employees, and she regularly berated them. Why did Jennir bring Ember with him? "I didn't have much of a choice, Ember. They would've lynched you if I'd left you there."
As they trek across the desert wastelands of Prine – having been shot down by Imperials – Ember is like Princess Vespa from "Spaceballs." She whines the whole time, and it's remarkable that Jennir's droid H2 is only lugging essential water and supplies rather than Ember's complete set of luggage. By the end of "Wildnerness," though, Jennir and Ember share a mutual kiss. It's surprising, but I'll let Stradley and Wheatley get away with it. Ember does turn over a new leaf amid the adventure when she demands that Jennir save a young girl from a slaver caravan rather than herself.
When Jennir and the Uhumele crew meet up again, Ember becomes the newest member of the group. In an example of one of the many details that make "Dark Times" such a rich text, Ember dips into the wardrobe of Crys (who died in "Vector"), and Ratty – who apparently knows his way around a spool and thread (!) – says he'll adjust the dress for a better fit.
As a side plot through these issues, Darth Vader is a couple steps behind Jennir, despite Palpatine's orders that he not go after surviving Jedi (although if he encounters one by chance, he is allowed to make the kill). "I have a plan in place for dealing with their remnant," the Emperor says. I wonder if Palpatine wants to establish a cadre of dark-side adepts and inquisitors. Perhaps he intends to capture rather than kill the Force-users the Empire comes across, and try to mold them to his needs. We see several Imperial dark-siders in future stories – Starkiller, Mara Jade, various inquisitors (most recently, the Inquisitor from "Rebels") – so it would be neat to get an explanation of how Palpatine finds and shapes these people.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksWed, 08 Apr 2015 15:08:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/8/Star-Wars-flashback-Dark-Times-Issues-0-1322-200912‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Knights of the Old Republic’ Issues 47-50 (2009-10) and ‘War’ (2012)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/7/Star-Wars-flashback-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Issues-4750-200910-and-War-2012
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John Jackson Miller doles out the answers to long-simmering mysteries fast and furious in the series-concluding <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic_%28comics%29" target="_blank">"Knights of the Old Republic"</a> Issues 47-50 (2009-10). The author's meticulous crafting of the plot pays off in this final arc, titled "Demon" (illustrated by Brian Ching), while he still keeps personalities, relationships and funny moments at the fore.
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When I started these reviews, I noted "Knights' " similarity to "Firefly," as both stories are about folks of diverse backgrounds who have the common trait of being on the run from something. So I had to laugh when we see giant stone statues of Gryph and Slyssk on Coruscant: "We, uh, saved half a battalion by accident," when he and Slyssk escaped from Serroco, Gryph explains. Whether Miller was giving a nod to "Jaynestown" or not, it's a funny moment.
The story of Rohlan Dyre, the mysterious Mandalorian traveling with Zayne's group, is less comedic. As revealed in more flashbacks, the mad Mando scientist Demagol switched places with Rohlan during the events way back in Issue 10. (The real Rohlan, who recently woke from a long coma in a Republic hospital, is who he says he is: A Mandalorian deserter, "The Questioner," who had been spying on Demagol and Casssus Fett to try to figure out the reason for the war.)
Then we learn that Demagol was originally the Zeltron Antos Wyrick, father of Chantique, teacher of Jarael and master of the Osadia School that had crooked ties to the Crucible slaver ring. Also, he can use the Force (although, oddly, he's not aware of it), and it was the masked Mandalorian Demagol, not Jarael, who used the Force to save their hides at the end of Issue 37.
In a nice tie-in to the "Tales of the Jedi" saga, we learn that Wyrick/Demagol created unstable clones from DNA on the cloak of Arcanian Jedi Master Arca Jeth. Among those clones is Jarael. Exar Kun's lightsaber, one of the Sith artifacts Zayne's group uncovered back in Issue 30, makes a neat cameo as the weapon that wipes out Demagol and Chantique.
While the Zayne-Jarael kiss that concludes Issue 50 is a giggle-worthy bowtie on the series, we were left with some major unanswered questions: What about Revan and Malak (explored in Issue 42, and featured prominently in the "Knights" video game that chronologically follows the comics)? And would Rohlan ever figure out the Mandos' reason for invading the Republic?
For a couple years, Miller turned his attention to his "Knight Errant" and "Lost Tribe of the Sith" sagas, but 2012's five-issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic:_War" target="_blank">"Knights of the Old Republic: War"</a> seemingly would answer those lingering questions. But it does not. The lackluster art by a team that hadn't worked on "Knights" before this probably makes me downgrade a decent story from Miller: Suiting up first for the Phaeda militia (the Republic does not create an official army until the prequels, although it kinda sorta has an army in "War" anyway) and then for the Mandalorians (who assimilate prisoners into their army), Zayne desperately tries to minimize killings battle by battle.
Building on Karen Traviss' work in the "Republic Commando" books, Miller presents a fascinating portrayal of Mando culture, which does not split itself into soldiers and civilians. Indeed, it's not unusual to see families and children in a war zone. He contrasts this with the Republic, which – one could argue -- uses Jedi to do its dirty work, and is therefore less noble than the Mandos.
While we're told on the first page that the Revanchists (those Jedi who ignored the Jedi Council's stance of neutrality and fight with the various Republic militias) have helped push back the Mandalorians' advance, these Revanchists – including Revan himself and Jarael's sort-of-former-flame Malak – do not appear in "War" at all. Rather, Miller explores a new concept: Mandalorian Knights, Jedi who joined the Mandos because they believe it is the righteous side.
In the end, Zayne sides with the Republic and becomes the "special diplomatic agent" on a Republic frigate as the war goes forward. Throughout this miniseries, I felt the fact that the Republic did not start the war gave them moral high ground when comparing the two sides, but Miller never brings this idea to the fore. In fact, Rohlan, "The Questioner," isn't in "War" at all (and Gryph and Jarael only make cameos), and we don't get so much as a clue as to why the Mandalorians started the war.
We know why the Mandos fight. As Mandalorian Knights leader Dorjander Kace tells Zayne: "On this, the Mandalorians and the Republic agree – strategy isn't the business of soldiers." (Presumably, strategy extends to encompass the very rationale of the war, seeing as how Rohlan's questions were not well received by his higher-ups.) And we can guess why the top military man, Cassus Fett, fights, even though Rohlan's studies were interrupted: Cassus is most likely a sociopathic murderer.
But we don't know why the Mandalorians' overall military/governmental/cultural leader (always given the title Mandalore, although we don't know anything about this particular Mandalore) has called for a war against the Republic. Perhaps that answer comes in the video game or future stories. Regardless, I wish Miller could've found a way to work it into this final "Knights of the Old Republic" story. Because of the unanswered mystery, "War" is something less than fantastic.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 07 Apr 2015 21:11:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/7/Star-Wars-flashback-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Issues-4750-200910-and-War-2012‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Knights of the Old Republic’ Issues 38-46 (2009)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/6/Star-Wars-flashback-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Issues-3846-2009
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With Zayne no longer hunted by Republic and Jedi officials, the focus of <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic_%28comics%29" target="_blank">"Knights of the Old Republic"</a> turns to Jarael in Issues 38-46 (2009). Earlier in the series, Jarael learned about her ancestry as an Arkanian offshoot, but because she didn't grow up on Arkania, she never experienced that racism personally, and those issues weren't truly her origin story. She had been keeping her personal history from her friends (and us readers) until the end of "Dueling Ambitions" (Issues 39-41), when we learn she had a good reason for secrecy: Jarael used to be a slaver.
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Well, that's a technicality. Jarael was kidnapped as a young child and raised as a slave among the Crucible slave-trading organization. When she attained a certain status within the ranks, she was allowed to oversee other slaves. She saw it as an opportunity to watch over younger slaves; indeed, "Jarael" translates as "protector," as she tells Zayne at the end of "Destroyer" (45-46). Chantique, a red-skinned Zeltron member of the Crucible who is a couple years older than Jarael, tries to spin the story so Zayne loathes Jarael. But the latter points out that she was 13 at the time she was with the Crucible, and besides, "If you don't know who I am, Zayne, after all this time – maybe it's time we end this, and go our own ways."
It seems out of character for Zayne, only 19 years old, to harshly judge 25-year-old Jarael for her past. But hopefully he'll calm down in upcoming issues. Regardless, Chantique is a striking new ongoing villain for "Knights," taking that mantle from Lucien.
Zayne becomes obsessed with exposing and shutting down the Crucible, and Jarael – finally deciding to take on her past rather than burying it – joins him. Gryph, for his part, prefers missions of a more commercial nature. At any rate, the gang has swapped out the Last Resort for the Hot Prospect, a beat-up old mining vessel that Slyssk picked out, and they are generally basking in their freedom and staying away from the Republic-Mandalorian War. I get a sense that these issues take place on the fringes of civilized space.
The good times are interrupted when they investigate a derelict spaceship in the one-off horror story "Faithful Execution" (38), which is given a moody feel by artist Dean Zachary. Then in "Dueling Ambitions" (39-41), illustrated by Brian Ching (who draws in a serious tone), Zayne revels in a trip to the aerial swoop-dueling space station called Jervo's World. While most fighting rings in "Star Wars" are blatantly crooked and linked to gambling – see The Wheel arc from Marvel comics and the prison fights in "Maul: Lockdown" – the League on Jervo's World passes itself off as being above board. Through revelations from a superstar duelist, however, Zayne and company realize the League gets its fighters from the Crucible. To keep its fighters in line, the League uses that reliable old tactic: threatening family members.
"The Reaping" (43-44) finds Jarael and Zayne going undercover as Crucible agents (it's not hard for Jarael, as she still has slaver tattoos on her face), and Bong Dazo vibrantly illustrates our heroes' space-bound rescue of slaves on a dangerous comet-mining operation.
"Destroyer" (45-46, drawn by Ching) is reminiscent of the "Angel" episode "The Ring" – and, again, "Maul: Lockdown." Writer John Jackson Miller blends two horrific industries – slavery and the military-industrial complex – at the Crucible's camp on Volgax. The slavers match beings against one another in pits until all they know is fighting (if it doesn't take, the slave can be sold for other purposes). They even turn one of the pacifist Caamasi species into a stone-cold killer. Then the Crucible can sell skilled armies of organic beings to warmongers around the galaxy.
Intriguing stuff, but the best issue of this batch is "Masks" (42, drawn by Ron Chan). It features a cute moment when Zayne kisses Jarael in order to make the Jedi Malak (formerly known as Alek and Squint) think they are a couple so he'll back off on asking Jarael to join him in fighting the Mandies. "You helped me run. But you also gave me time," Zayne notes, so he's returning the favor to Jarael.
Malak is a Revanchist, a term Miller introduced earlier in "Knights" to describe the rogue group of Jedi who are fighting with the Republic against the Mandies' push to conquer worlds. This is despite the fact that the Jedi Order – for no good reason that we know of -- has officially decided to stay out of the fight. In "Masks," we learn the term comes from Revan (a.k.a. "The Revanchist"), a Mandalorian who grew disgusted with his people's warmongering, as Malak discerns from a flashback vision on the Mandie-ravaged planet Cathar.
Revan's arc sounds almost identical to that of Rohlan, the unmasked Mandalorian on the Hot Prospect crew. And, like Malak, Rohlan is devoted to and protective of Jarael. No connection is made between Rohlan and Revan, or Rohlan and Malak – yet. But Rohlan's story is the most compelling "Knights" mystery heading into the conclusive issues.
Although the characters had been mentioned (Revan) or appeared (Malak) previously in the series, "Masks" marks the first usage of their names. This was cool for fans of the Revan-centered "Knights" video game, for which the comic series is a prequel of sorts. Two years after "Masks" came out, the long-lived Revan's story continued in Drew Karpyshyn's novel "The Old Republic: Revan," in which Malak also appears in flashbacks. While Revan is sidelined for the rest of "Knights," we'll catch up with Malak again. I have a bad feeling he'll make a dark turn. It'll be interesting to see if Jarael's rejection will play a role.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 06 Apr 2015 01:20:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/6/Star-Wars-flashback-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Issues-3846-2009‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Knights of the Old Republic’ Issues 29-37 (2008-09)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/4/Star-Wars-flashback-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Issues-2937-200809
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Nearly three full years into its run, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic_%28comics%29" target="_blank">"Knights of the Old Republic"</a> finally wraps up the "framing of Zayne Carrick" arc. It's satisfying in the sense that Zayne's name is cleared and he can now move freely throughout the galaxy without fear of arrest (at least for that particular crime), but it also illustrates a common problem with stories about Jedi Masters and justice in the "Star Wars" universe: namely, that they are above the law. As I review issues Issues 29-37 (2008-09), I'm not sure if I should give credit to John Jackson Miller for illuminating this problem, or if I should be peeved that he doles out a light sentence to Master Lucien Draay and his cohorts.
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In the epilogue of Issue 35, Lucien and the other surviving Covenant members who killed four innocent Padawans and framed Zayne form a kinder, gentler version of the Covenant on a remote planet. Lucien is wearing a wrap around his eyes, as if he clawed them out as penance. I like that Lucien and Zayne team up to defeat Haazen, the Draay family ward who was secretly manipulating everyone with the dark side, in the dramatic finale of "Vindication" (Issues 32-35). But I don't like the way Miller portrays it. Off-panel, Lucien and Zayne agree to fake out Haazen by pretending to fight each other. Readers never see the actual pact, nor does Zayne get so much as an apology from Lucien.
Justice for renegade Jedis has always been a controversial issue in "Star Wars." Most notably, Kyp Durron destroys an entire populated planet in the "Jedi Academy Trilogy," and faces no legal repercussions. The issue of how to imprison Jedi might be a practical factor. We can assume Barriss Offee was convicted of the bombing and imprisoned at the end of "The Clone Wars" Season 5 (as the Republic had wrongly put Ahsoka on trial for that crime), but how the Republic successfully secures dark-side Jedi is unclear. I picture Magneto's special cage in the "X-Men" films.
And even arresting Jedi can be nearly impossible for non-Force-users. The attempted arrest of Palpatine in "Episode III" must be undertaken by Jedi Masters, because -- even if the Jedi themselves ultimately failed -- Republic police officers would have no hope of detaining any Force-user who doesn't voluntarily submit to it, particularly one as powerful as Darth Sidious.
Still, it's an undeniable double standard that Lucien and his Covenant members get to live freely (even if they see it as a life of penance) when a common citizen who killed four innocent people would be imprisoned. I imagine HoloNet debates in the Old Republic consist of GFFA libertarians advocating for equal treatment under the law and hearing the straw-man rebuttal of "But not ALL Jedi are bad." I hope Miller, the foremost expert in Earth history and politics among "Star Wars" scribes, will revisit the Old Republic's unequal treatment of Jedis under the law.
But he has other tricks up his sleeve in "Prophet Motive" (36-37), when he brings Jarael and Rohlan – backgrounded throughout Zayne's vindication arc -- back to the fore. It appears that Jarael uses the Force to rescue herself and Rohlan. However, Rohlan is the one who (rather randomly) encourages Jarael to use the Force to save them, and it occurs to me that we've never seen under Rohlan's Mandalorian mask. I think Rohlan, in fact, is the Force user.
This batch of issues both illustrates and overcomes a criticism I have levied on "Knights" since the beginning: That it doesn't feel enough like a sequel to "Tales of the Jedi." The wildly varying art styles is a big part of the problem. I'm not sure if "Exalted" (29-30) is supposed to be funny or serious: Zayne and Gryph get viciously roughed up by the muscular guardians of the Covenant's Sith artifacts, yet Bing Dazo's art makes the comedic elements of Miller's script pop, creating an odd dichotomy. "Turnabout" (31), drawn by Alan Robinson, sets a serious tone as Zayne and Gryph infiltrate Coruscant, but "Vindication" then bounces back and forth between Dazo's humor-enhancing style and Brian Ching's rough and grim work.
The problem isn't necessarily that one art style or another is right for a given arc, it's the inconsistency within a single storyline. The contrast of a serious story and humorous art can be effective, as shown in "Prophet Motive." Dazo illustrates Gryph's daring scheme to dress up as a law professor and infiltrate the crazy white-collar criminal world of futures trading, where an increasingly unhinged Chevin (think Ephant Mon from Jabba's Palace) runs the show.
I must give Miller credit, though, for Haazen's arc in "Vindication." I like how the author pauses the action to reveal Haazen's backstory in a multi-page flashback, a technique often employed by John Ostrander on "Legacy" (and something that should have been done to show Lucien and Zayne's secret team-up). Haazen's turn to the dark side happened in the Sith War, when he was manipulated by Dossa, a female of the always-grinning Nautolan species (think Kit Fisto) who is a lackey of "Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War" villain Exar Kun. Dossa gives Haazen ugly but effective prosthetics after purposely injuring him in a blast, thus sealing Haazen's dark-side rage the way cybernetic parts are wont to do in "Star Wars." A Sith artifact then shielded Haazen's dark nature, allowing him to live in close proximity to the Covenant for decades.
We also learn that Lucien's father was killed in the Sith War, which is also where Lucien began to develop his twisted view that young Jedi warriors are expendable (even via outright murder) if it's in service to a better future. I don't know if Miller intended me to sympathize with Lucien and his Covenant by the end of "Vindication," but – lacking a scene of Zayne receiving an apology -- I still hate Lucien's guts. On the other hand, I'm digging all the good guys, and I particularly want to find out Rohlan's identity and the shrouded reason behind the Republic-Mandalorian war in upcoming stories.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSat, 04 Apr 2015 00:22:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/4/Star-Wars-flashback-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Issues-2937-200809‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Vector’ (2008)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/3/Star-Wars-flashback-Vector-2008
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Dark Horse editor Randy Stradley begins his introduction to the first trade-paperback volume of <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Vector" target="_blank">"Vector"</a> (2008) by apologizing for the "crass commercialism" of the crossover project. But he needn't have apologized. The idea of a story that travels through the four ongoing "Star Wars" comics of the time may have been commercial, but it was also just plain cool.
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Even if the finished project didn't elevate any of the four titles (which shows how strong they were without gimmicks), I appreciate "Vector" for its narrative ambition, especially since the only other major crossover in "Star Wars" lore came way back in the "Ewoks" and "Droids" comics of the 1980s. (There are also several bits of synergy that weren't heavily advertised as crossovers, such as the way "The Lost Tribe of the Sith" links to "Fate of the Jedi.")
Here's a breakdown of the 12-issue "Vector" story:
Part 1: "Knights of the Old Republic" Issues 25-28
Part 2: "Dark Times" Issues 11-12
Part 3: "Rebellion" Issues 15-16
Part 4: "Legacy" Issues 28-31
The linking elements are the Old Republic Jedi Celeste Morne and her Muur Talisman, which contains the spirit of Dark Lord Karness Muur, a Sith so ancient he predates the Sith Order. The trinket allows the user to turn humans (but conveniently for storytelling purposes, not Force users or aliens) into rakghouls, which are essentially monster zombies. Although Morne uses the beasts to protect herself, she doesn't crave power; she simply doesn't want the talisman to fall into the wrong hands. Eventually, the scenes of lightsabers slicing through armies of slavering rakghouls get old, as do Muur's constant whispers into Morne's ear to let him take over her body so she can be at peace.
Morne is at her most likable in John Jackson Miller's "Knights of the Old Republic." A member of Master Lucien's secret Covenant, she refuses Lucien's order to kill Zayne, as she believes it is the wrong thing to do – despite being annoyed by Zayne and Gryph's constant chatter. By "Legacy," Morne is the one who is constantly bickering (with Muur's spirit).
Having been left in a life-sustaining oubliette for 4,000 years between "Knights" and "Dark Times," and then left stranded on a moon by Darth Vader for 20 years between "Dark Times" and "Rebellion," Morne earns a reader's sympathy. However, because she's consistently noble and unselfish, she's kind of boring in the first three parts. By the time of "Legacy" – after floating on an empty ship for 135 years, kept young-looking as a side effect of the talisman -- she starts to become disaffected and less likable.
Contrasting with the ancient feel of "Tales of the Jedi," "Knights" had always been oddly colorful with the bumbling Zayne and opportunistic Gryph, and Scott Hepburn's cartoonish art – reminiscent of Carlos Meglia's in "Underworld: The Yavin Vassilika" – finally matches the tone here.
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That makes for a rather jarring switch to the painted panels of Douglas Wheatley and Dave Ross on Stradley's "Dark Times," although it fits with the grim story of Vader ambushing the Uhumele crew on a remote moon and trying to make Morne into his apprentice. Always a title that lives up to its moniker, "Dark Times" dispatches its one human crew member, Crys, in this arc. (Dass Jennir is off brooding somewhere during "Vector.")
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The "Rebellion" issues, penned by Rob Williams with nice art by Dustin Weaver, consist of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, Deena and Able fighting off rakghouls on the moon where Vader stranded Morne. Williams gives us a nice bit of continuity when Vader mulls whether or not to go after his son. Vader reflects on "what he learned on Centares – and then later from Sunber": his son's existence and name. Janek Sunber is a reference to earlier "Rebellion" comics and the planet Centares is a reference to the Marvel comics and "Vader's Quest."
Unlike the other three titles, which continued for several more years, "Rebellion" ended its run with "Vector." Able meets his end on the battlefield, but Deena's arc gets stranded. The main heroes would next be seen chronologically in Brian Wood's "Star Wars," but Wood did nothing to acknowledge the "Rebellion" threads, let alone continue them.
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Aside from the almost Kevin J. Anderson-esque taunting between Morne and Muur, the "Legacy" issues mark the best part of "Vector." This is partly because John Ostrander's series is the best-written of the four titles (another positive: Jan Duursema draws these issues) and partly because Morne joins in on Cade and company's journey to kill Darth Krayt – a plot introduced at the end of the previous "Legacy" arc. So while "Vector" somewhat represented side trips for the heroes of "Knights," "Dark Times" and "Rebellion," the "Legacy" saga incorporates Morne rather than getting sidetracked to accommodate her story.
Despite featuring all the factions except the Galactic Alliance Remnant, the big Sith versus good-Force-users showdown finds room for nice character moments – notably Cade and Imperial Knight Azlyn Rae reigniting the flame from their days as Padawans (something that will no doubt miff Deliah Blue in future stories, as did Cade's liaison with Darth Talon awhile back). And I love the fact that the action takes place on the mythic Core world Had Abbadon, which as "Star Wars" die-hards know was the name of the Imperial capital planet in early drafts of "Return of the Jedi."
All told, "Vector" was a nice experiment; I'm glad Dark Horse tried a major crossover once during its time with the "Star Wars" license. That having been said, I'll be happy to step back from the epic scope, rakghoul slaughters and whispering Sith spirits when I resume my re-reads of "Knights," "Dark Times" and "Legacy."
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksFri, 03 Apr 2015 00:01:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/3/Star-Wars-flashback-Vector-2008‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Legacy’ Issues 20-27 (2008)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/2/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Issues-2027-2008
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Coming off Cade Skywalker's epic escape from the Sith Temple in the previous arc, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Legacy" target="_blank">"Legacy"</a> Issues 20-27 (2008) mark an opportunity for the series to catch its breath. Rather than being a boring stretch of issues, it is enjoyable to bask in this world writer John Ostrander has constructed, especially since he shines with dialogue and humor when the stakes aren't so high.
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This is a good place to mention the attention to detail Ostrander pours into the "Legacy" universe. Much like Joss Whedon had the crew of the Serenity swearing in Chinese in the future-set "Firefly," the heroes of "Legacy" often use Huttese words. For example, the gang is hanging out at Cade's uncles' hideout and enjoying a meal. Jariah Syn tells young Ahnah: "Na joka, Ahnah. I'd always choose you. With deep regret for having lost that bilaberry patogga."
The new Lucasfilm Story Group, which aims to appeal to the lowest common denominator, would probably prefer that line said, "No kidding, Ahnah. I'd always choose you. With deep regret for having lost that blueberry pie." But the use of Huttese not only makes this fictional universe feel different from Earth, it also makes the audience feel intelligent – even though it doesn't take a Death Star superlaser technician to put together the image of a blueberry pie with the words "bilaberry patogga."
In "Loyalties" (Issues 23-24), Ostrander introduces another Skywalker: Cade's uncle (and Kol's brother), Nat Skywalker, who now goes by the name Bantha Rawk and hides out with his family in the Rawk's Nest -- much like Sarah Connor's heavily armed friends have a compound south of L.A. in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." When Cade and his friends on the Mynock arrive, Bantha and his family are successfully fighting off Black Sun bandits.
Bantha's life illustrates an option for Cade and his "I just want to be left alone" outlook, but Bantha outlines the sacrifices: changing you name, appearance, friends and ship, "and don't ever use the Force again." "That's just surviving, Uncle Bantha," Cade realizes. "That's not living – not like I want it. I got a fast ship and friends I trust at my back. I like living on the fringes and I just want my freedom."
"The Hidden Temple" (25-26) includes some tasty material, including the backstory of why Syn loathes Jedi. But when he honestly examines his memories, Syn realizes the Jedi who killed his dad was actually protecting a group of roon stone prospectors (a nice shout-out to the "Droids" cartoon) and Syn's dad and pirate boss were the aggressors.
I didn't care much for the accusation by the Jedi in the Hidden Temple that Cade is in danger of going to the dark side. Because he doesn't have a power-craving bone in his body, Cade – compared to Ulic, Quinlan and even Luke – was uniquely prepared to overcome an infiltration of Darth Krayt's sanctum. The Jedi leadership's assertion that Jedi don't do assassinations is even more absurd, especially in light of Darth Krayt's recent actions.
With the Galactic Alliance Remnant on the brink of total defeat, Admiral Gar Stazi finagles a clever military victory in "Alliance" (20-21). That sparks Krayt to order the slaughter of 10 percent of the population of Dac (a.k.a. Mon Calamari) in "The Wrath of the Dragon" (22) – an action that had me thinking "Krayt just overplayed his hand, and this will mark the turning point of the war." It's not an idle threat, as in "Loyalties," our heroes hear a news report that the Sith Empire has indeed killed 10 percent of Dac's population with the rest in the process of being rounded up for slave camps.
In arguing to sit this war out, the Jedi Council in the Hidden Temple brings up a valid point that Krayt might soon die on his own. That brings us to "Into the Core" (27), where Darth Wyyrlok infiltrates the tomb of Darth Andeddu looking for more Sith secrets on how to prolong the life of Krayt, who started life as the human A'Sharad Hett way back in "Republic." Krayt's loyal aide had devised a stasis chamber for his master, but that might no longer be enough.
Wyyrlok is an interesting tie-in to prior eras, but not because he is long-lived like Krayt and Jedi Masters K'Kruhk and T'ra Saa (who enters the "Legacy" narrative in "The Hidden Temple"). Rather, "Legacy's" Darth Wyyrlok (III) is the grandson of the male Darth Wyyrlok (I) from the novels "Crosscurrent" and "Riptide," and the son of the female Darth Wyyrlok (II). All three generations have served as Krayt's aide.
The second-most absurd argument (behind "Assassinations aren't the Jedi way") the Jedi Council uses for not getting involved is that the next Sith leader could be even worse. Really, worse than someone who successfully inspires his troops to kill 10 percent of a planet's population overnight? If Krayt is not worthy of being assassinated, no one is, and frankly, there's not a lot of point for the Jedi Order to exist.
While the Jedi sit this one out, the Imperial Knights agree to join Cade on this new mission to face Krayt, putting me in the odd position of rooting for Imperials rather than Jedi. But putting new twists on old "Star Wars" concepts is part of the appeal of "Legacy."
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksThu, 02 Apr 2015 00:01:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/2/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Issues-2027-2008‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Legacy’ Issues 11-19 (2007-08)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/1/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Issues-1119-200708
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<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Legacy" target="_blank">"Legacy"</a> Issues 11-19 (2007-08) chronicle Cade Skywalker's attempt to infiltrate the dark side without being turned, something that had already been chronicled in "Tales of the Jedi" (Ulic Qel-Droma), "Republic" (Quinlan Vos) and "Dark Empire" (Luke Skywalker). So it's impressive that – despite the way-too-familiar nature of this story – writer John Ostrander ratchets "Legacy" to new heights with this batch of issues.
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A big reason why I enjoyed Issues 11-19 is that, while the first 10 issues only flirted with tie-ins to the wider "Star Wars" saga, this batch features a smorgasbord of links. In "Ghosts" (11-12), the suicidal Cade Skywalker is visited by the spirit of his great-great grandmother, Mara Jade, who – having been both an Emperor's Hand and a Jedi -- can sympathize with Cade's dual nature. ("Fate of the Jedi's" Vestara Khai, who is possibly Cade's great-grandmother, would have been an even better candidate for this role. But she wasn't invented yet at the time these comics came out.)
Then Jedi Master K'Kruhk is among the Jedi who find Cade on Ossus. Around this same time, we were reading about the Whiphid's struggles with the dark side in "Dark Times," so while it's a bit of a spoiler to know he ultimately stays on the side of good, it's worth it to have a long-lived Jedi provide a foundation of knowledge for Cade. In addition to his own dark-side struggles (which he doesn't reference here), K'Kruhk had a first-hand look at what Vos went through in the Clone Wars.
Coolest of all, K'Kruhk gives R2-D2 to Cade, thus creating the need for an untold story at some point after "Crucible" where the astromech passes from the Skywalker/Solo family into K'Kruhk's care. While Artoo doesn't factor into these issues much, I love the idea that the droid links not only the lives of Anakin and Luke and Ben, but now Cade as well.
"Legacy's" biggest early mystery was the identity of Emperor Darth Krayt, and it's finally revealed on the final page of Issue 15, the second part of "Claws of the Dragon" (14-19): Krayt is A'Sharad Hett, the Tusken Raider/Jedi who we last saw in the "Republic" comics. The fact that Ostrander finds a way to continue Hett's arc is awesome, but even cooler is the backstory in Issues 16-18 that tells us what happened to Hett between "Republic" and "Legacy."
Hett returned to his Tusken Raider clan, but – after being defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi in a duel – he agreed to leave Tatooine. On Korriban, Hett studied the Holocron of XoXann, one of the initial dozen Dark Lords of the Sith. Then he linked up with the Yuuzhan Vong just before their invasion of the galaxy in "The New Jedi Order" books, and learned about the dark side from Vergere, who soon after this would share the same teachings with Jacen Solo. This marks Dark Horse's first foray into the Yuuzhan Vong War, something it would later chronicle in the "Invasion" comics.
Issue 19 concludes with a confusing (it had to be confirmed by Ostrander in a "Star Wars" forum post) revelation that Morrigan Corde (Cade's mother) and Imperial Moff Nyna Calixte are the same person. This is despite the fact that Corde appears to be 40-ish (she could pass for younger, except we know she is the mother of 20-something Cade) and Calixte appears to be 60-ish. Corde/Calixte is not a shapeshifter or a Force-user who specializes in disguise (Luke used the Force to disguise himself on an undercover mission in "The Black Fleet Crisis" trilogy). Rather, she simply uses makeup to switch between her personas.
Corde uses makeup to put on her Calixte disguise, but it's weird that she does it in front of her lover, Moff Morlish Veed, who doesn't know of her Corde identity. Still, it makes sense for a young person to make themselves look older rather than vice versa, so we have to assume Corde is her true identity and Calixte is her false persona.
One potential pitfall of "Legacy" is that it's such a galactic game of Risk that we don't know what life is like for average citizens. "Ready to Die" (13) goes some way toward alleviating this by showing that the Sith Empire annexes planets the same way Palpatine's Galactic Empire did: It appeals to the greed or fear of a local politician who is willing to "rule" the planet, so long as he obeys the Empire's dictates. In addition to giving us a bit of the intrigue between the Sith Empire and Roan Fel's Empire – which is otherwise set aside in this batch of issues – "Ready to Die" features the Codru-Ji, one of the weirdest "Star Wars" species (which is to be expected, as they were introduced in "The Crystal Star"): As children, they look like dogs, but upon adulthood they transform into four-armed humanoids.
All of these connections to other "Star Wars" stories enrich "Legacy" and push Cade Skywalker's dark-side journey above its clichés. Plus, I should acknowledge that Cade is different from other Force-users who have taken this path because he does not seek to reshape the galaxy; he might be the first libertarian Jedi. He just wants to carve his own path and live by one central tenet: He doesn't want anyone to die for him.
Krayt: "Don't be a fool! If you jump, you die – and you doom the galaxy to chaos!"
Cade: "The galaxy can look after itself."
After he escapes Krayt's temple on Coruscant – with an assist from his mother, who then disappears from his life again – Cade has a happy reunion with Jariah Syn and his other allies (although one suspects Deliah Blue is considerably miffed by Cade's tryst with Darth Talon, something she witnessed via thud-bug remote holocam). Ostrander earns the victorious moment after what had been a rather dark series up to this point. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens as "Legacy" moves further into the light.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksWed, 01 Apr 2015 00:24:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/4/1/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Issues-1119-200708‘Star Wars’ flashback’: ‘Legacy’ Issues 1-10 (2006-07)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/31/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Issues-110-200607
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Most "Star Wars" stories firmly connect to an established part of the saga, but there are some exceptions in the Legends canon where the author(s) had unusually free reign: Tom Veitch's "Tales of the Jedi" comics (1993) opened up the galaxy 4,000 years before "A New Hope," Tim Lebbon's and John Ostrander's "Dawn of the Jedi" novel and comics (2013) lifted the veil on the galaxy 25,000 years before "A New Hope," and Ostrander's <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Legacy" target="_blank">"Legacy"</a> (2006) explored the galaxy 129 years after "A New Hope" (or 125 years after "Return of the Jedi," as it says on the cover of the first TPB).
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Ostrander had proven himself as an outstanding character writer of Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura in "Republic," but world-building is a whole 'nother challenge. In Issues 1-10 of "Legacy" (2006-07), he's up to the task, although he plays it safe: This era is recognizably "Star Wars," but on a fresh game board. It's the comic-writing equivalent of playing with action figures. While I found the similarity between "Dawn of the Jedi" and movie-era "Star Wars" disappointing, I don't mind it on "Legacy." After all, these events are only a century after the Yuuzhan Vong war.
Despite "Legacy" carving out a new era, I can't resist trying to connect it back to the novels storyline that ends with "Crucible," set 84 years before "Legacy." And Ostrander can't resist, either. He suggests in the opening arc, "Broken" (Issues 1-3, 5-7), that the masked Sith Emperor, Krayt, has lived for a long time. When Krayt visits the Sith spirits on Korriban, Darth Aneddu's ghost mocks him: "The heretic comes for the same reason it came last time. Its body is failing. It fears that which is consuming it."
Even more intriguing, on the last page of Issue 7, Krayt – who is now thinking of trying to turn Cade Skywalker to the dark side – tells his lackey, Darth Talon: "I often wonder if I shouldn't have ended the Skywalker lineage when I had the chance. Perhaps it was fated that I did not."
A back-of-the-napkin calculation reveals that there's probably only one unknown generation in the Skywalker family tree. If Ben Skywalker and Vestara Khai had a son when they were about 30, and then that person had a son when he was about 30, that son would be Kol Skywalker, the father of "Legacy" main character Cade. As such, Ben is Cade's great-grandfather and Luke (whose Force ghost chides the deathstick-smoking Cade) is Cade's great-great grandfather. Ben could have possibly been alive at the time of Cade's birth.
"Legacy's" political setup is a hodgepodge of familiar tropes:
• The Sith Empire, led by Emperor Darth Krayt, holds the most power, including control of Coruscant. Krayt's acolytes include a bevy of Sith, most of whom sport Darth Maul-style tattoos, most strikingly his "hand," the Twi'lek Darth Talon.
• The non-Sith Empire is led by Emperor Roan Fel, who has been deposed from the Coruscant throne, but still has a lot of loyal officers, stormtroopers and Force-using Imperial Knights. Fel's Empire is headquartered on Bastion. Fel's Empire could potentially join forces with Jedi and/or the Galactic Alliance Remnant against the Sith, but those groups don't trust it due to its past alliance with the Sith.
• In the wake of the Sith's victory at the Jedi Temple on Ossus when Cade is a pre-teen (and when Cade's dad, Kol, is killed), the Jedi are on the run or in hiding.
• Cade, who has rejected his Jedi legacy despite (and because of) his ability to bring dying people back to full health, is a bounty hunter whose team includes his Zeltron girlfriend/mechanic Deliah Blue and his sort-of-friend/pilot Jariah Syn.
• The Galactic Alliance Remnant is small but proud. General Gar Stazi, a Duros, is its most prominent figure.
In "Allies" (Issue 8), Ostrander provides a vague explanation of how the "Legacy" galaxy came to its current political morass.
Emperor Roan Fel: "The Jedi believed the (Yuuzhan Vong) could be habituated ... but their efforts were sabotaged. (Imperial Admiral) Veed and many of the high moffs screamed it was an act of war. The Empire issued an ultimatum which the Galactic Alliance – with the Jedi urging – rejected. So we are at war. The Yuuzhan Vong were framed – just as the Jedi claimed. The Sith, who just happened to show up a year into the war as our allies, were the ones who did it."
In a nutshell, the Sith -- led by Krayt -- manipulated the political structure in a way that would've made Palpatine proud.
The most confusing aspect of "Legacy's" structure is the question of how Imperial officers and troopers decide whether to serve Krayt or Fel. They must ask themselves if they serve the throne (Krayt) or the man (Fel), and there are cases to be made on both sides. As such, "Noob" (Issue 4) is a crucial issue because Ostrander shows how impossible this decision is for the average stormtrooper, and how absurd it is that they are at war with their fellow stormtroopers.
Another intriguing question of loyalty comes up in "Trust Issues" (9-10) when we meet Imperial agent Morrigan Corde, who also happens to be Cade's mom, who left Kol and Cade when the latter was a baby. Artist Colin Wilson draws Corde as quite young-looking even though she should be at least in her 40s at this point (although in the "Star Wars" galaxy, humans do tend to age more slowly than on modern Earth).
The most disappointing aspect of "Legacy" – as compared to Ostrander's "Republic" work – is that Jan Duursema (who co-wrote the "Broken" arc) does not draw every issue. She gorgeously draws "Broken," but then hands off the reins to a variety of other artists. While she will return for a several future "Legacy" issues, the lack of visual continuity on the title is unfortunate.
Still, the storytelling all comes from Ostrander, and it's clear through 10 issues that he's taking the world-building seriously, and he has already created a bevy of complicated interpersonal relationships for Cade. While the backward-looking continuity is undeniably intriguing for continuity buffs, there's also enough forward momentum that I'm hooked.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 31 Mar 2015 15:04:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/31/Star-Wars-flashback-Legacy-Issues-110-200607‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Dark Times’ Issues 1-10 (2006-08)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/30/Star-Wars-flashback-Dark-Times-Issues-110-200608
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Because Obi-Wan equates the "dark times" with the Empire ("That was before the dark times, before the Empire"), one would assume the <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Dark_Times" target="_blank">"Dark Times"</a> comic book series explores people living under the oppression of the New Order. But interestingly, this series – which takes place immediately in the wake of Order 66 and Palpatine's declaration of the Galactic Empire – tells of people living in anarchic chaos rather than stifling order.
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This is a savvy move by writer Randy Stradley (writing under the pen names Welles Hartley and Mick Harrison), because transitions of government throughout Earth history are often messy affairs that don't happen overnight, regardless of official proclamations. By the time of the "Rebels" TV series 15 years later, we will indeed see the Empire's terrifying order. But it takes time to establish it. As such, "Dark Times" is more about living without the Republic and the Jedi than it is about living under the Empire.
Somewhat surprisingly, Emperor Palpatine – a master manipulator as he rose to power -- is now quite blunt as he goes about consolidating his power in "Dark Times" Issues 1-10 (2006-08). Even Darth Vader is exasperated by Palpatine's approach, particularly when it comes to the Empire rounding up and selling Nosaurians (whose government had sided with the Separatists) on the slave market. Historically, a new imperial government will want to secure its power by going after a naïve citizenry's good graces. In order to get people to gladly pay taxes, and to get enough of them to join the military, an empire would presumably want to shut down the slave trade, or at least make it appear it is doing so.
However, Palpatine is already arrogantly governing by dictate, and he orders the slaves to be sold on the open market, with the Empire pocketing the profits. The Emperor bends the truth when explaining the situation to Vader, claiming the slaves are working for the Empire (and one can only assume Palpatine is telling even more brazen lies to the citizenry).
Some of Vader's scenes in the opening arc, "The Path to Nowhere" (Issues 1-5), come from James Luceno's novel "Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader" (2005), which you'll want to read for a more Vader-centered story. Vader will no doubt factor more into "Dark Times" as it goes forward, but "Path to Nowhere" is primarily the story of Nosaurian Bomo Greenbark and his Jedi ally Dass Jennir, who met in "Republic" Issues 79-80. They join a crew of smugglers on the Uhumele, which is this series' answer to "Knights of the Old Republic's" Last Resort and "Firefly's" Serenity.
Stradley delivers an incredibly dark storyline for Bomo, who learns his daughter was sold at the slave market and his wife was killed trying to stop the sale. Then it turns out that the guy who purchased Bomo's daughter killed and ate her. As such, it's refreshing to find that the Uhumele is genuinely welcoming to the distraught Bomo. The bonding of the makeshift family is shown subtly by artist Douglas Wheatley, a master at telling a story through visuals: For example, some panels show the diminutive Ratty cautiously placing a hand on Bomo's arm to try to comfort him.
"Dark Times" is a lot of fun for fans of "Star Wars" fauna, as the Uhumele's Captain Heren is a Yarkora (think Yak Face, he of the famously rare Original 93 action figure), engineer Ratty is a Tintinna (introduced in the "Holiday Special") and navigator Sniffles is an Elomin (introduced in "Heir to the Empire").
Countless stories have chronicled Jedi dealing with the dark side, but "Dark Times" might be the meatiest. At the end of "Path to Nowhere," Jennir kills Dezono Qua, the "man of means" who murdered and ate Bomo's daughter. Jennir says he killed Qua to spare Bomo from having to do it ("Killing him would have taken something from your soul"). Then Jennir goes off to deal with what he has done.
K'Kruhk, a Whiphid Jedi Master who appeared in numerous "Republic" comics, finds himself in a similar situation by the end of "Parallels" (Issues 6-10), which is inferior to "Path to Nowhere" only because isn't drawn by Wheatley. The art by Dave Ross and Lui Antonio isn't bad, and it's neat to return to the swamp planet Mimban (from "Splinter of the Mind's Eye"), but they commit the crime of not being Wheatley.
K'Kruhk kills a bunch of kidnappers looking to ransom the Jedi children under his protection. Like Jennir, K'Kruhk thinks he has done something wrong: "They didn't deserve to die that way. It was wrong. I was wrong."
My initial reactions to Jennir's and K'Kruhk's self-flagellation is that it's nonsense. Those bad guys had it coming (indeed, Stradley makes them unambiguously bad: kidnappers and kid-eaters, for god's sake), and if Jedi are the guardians of peace AND justice, well, justice often consists of good people using violence to stop bad people from using violence against innocents. It's unlikely K'Kruhk could have merely subdued all the kidnappers. In Jennir's case, while he could have arrested Dezono Qua, to what authority would he hand the suspect over? Not the Empire, as it is hunting Jedi, and probably not the planetary government, which is probably controlled by the Empire to some degree.
Granted, K'Kruhk does find a nice empty world where "game and fruit are plentiful," and he sets up a sort of mini-Jedi Academy. That's part of the hook of "Dark Times" and many other dark "Star Wars" stories: The idea that there is a little slice of freedom to be found somewhere among the stars. But, of course, the Empire always finds you eventually, especially if you have a target on your back, as all Jedi do.
As "Dark Times" goes forward, Jennir and K'Kruhk will fight their inner demons. As a reader, I'm thinking "As long as you remain on the side of good, go ahead and use the dark side." It's easy for me to say, as only people who have taken a life (even if in self-defense of others) can truly say what it does to one's soul. But it feels right to kill scum like Dezono Qua. And that's why "Dark Times" is off to such a good start.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 30 Mar 2015 01:31:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/30/Star-Wars-flashback-Dark-Times-Issues-110-200608‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Knights of the Old Republic’ Issues 13-24 (2007)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/27/Star-Wars-flashback-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Issues-1324-2007
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I prefer reading "Star Wars" comics in trade-paperback volumes rather than on a monthly basis because I find the story flows better. The 2007 batch of <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic_%28comics%29" target="_blank">"Knights of the Old Republic,"</a> comprising Issues 13-24, goes against the grain, though.
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This is a deliberately paced section of the saga, with the Arkanian villain Lord Adasca regularly repeating his scheme to take over the galaxy by leveraging the fact that he can control exogorths (space slugs, most famously seen in "Empire Strikes Back"). That's not automatically a bad thing, as sometimes I enjoy slowing down and savoring a "Star Wars" yarn, and John Jackson Miller is still an outstanding character writer, but it's undeniable he's treading water a bit on these issues.
A big point in favor of the exogorth scheme is it feels like "Tales of the Jedi," the series that immediately precedes "Knights" on the Legends timeline. Too often, "Knights" seems like it could take place anywhere on the timeline, but it starts to develop a bit of a "Tales" feel here with the sweeping Republic versus Mandalorian war and the way it delves into the backstory of a small piece of the classic films, the space slugs. (Similarly, the "Tales" saga dug into the history of Yavin's Massassi Temples and the way hyperspace routes are discovered.)
In my last "Knights" post, I observed that Miller had assembled a "Firefly"-style crew, but he breaks it up in Issue 13, leaving a reader (and even Zayne, who says "I would have preferred some company" as Jarael takes off) to hope everyone will get back together at some point.
Much to Zayne's bafflement, Gryph somehow starts a successful restaurant serving Republic military camps. An amusing addition to the brotherhood of the sorta-brave is Slyssk, a rare Trandoshan who is averse to killing, and who happens to be an amazing chef. For all the entertainment value of the makeshift restaurateurs, it's annoying that Zayne has to deal with even more people who want to lock him up for his masters' murders of Jedi Padawans. At least Republic Lieutenant Onasi is capable of judging Zayne by his character rather than the official reports.
In the 2006 batch, Miller tried to make Lucien (Zayne's master) sympathetic by showing his training by Master Krynda, and the author tries the same tack with Lucien's fellow Padawan-murderer Raana Tey here. By the end of Issue 24, Zayne learns Krynda's name, a big piece of the puzzle of discovering the true motivations behind the frame-job. But even if they were manipulated by Krynda as youths, I still think Lucien and Tey are scum.
Meanwhile, Jarael – out of desperation – takes the sick Camper to Arkania. Miller – a master at developing slices of history within the larger "Star Wars" mythos – shows us that Jarael and Camper are Arkanian "offshoots" who get discriminated against for their white skin and human-looking eyes. Traditional Arkanians have gold skin and pure white eyes. The offshoots were created via genetic experiment, and deep-seated shame has caused most traditional Arkanians to shun them.
Despite his bigotry, Lord Arcana keeps Jarael and Camper close because Camper -- a brilliant government scientist before he went into hiding -- is the only man who can control the exogorths.
In Issues 19-21 ("Daze of Hate"), the whole cast gets thrown back together on Arkania, and additional threads come to the fore: Mandalorian deserter Rohlan faces the Mando leader; Zayne is forced to team up with Lucien; and Jarael and Republic soldier Squint (a.k.a. Alek) develop an attraction. Bong Dazo's vibrant art and Miller's tight writing make this absurdly layered story thrilling rather than confusing.
Issues 22-24 ("Knights of Suffering") brings the "Knights" saga to a satisfying pausing point. As the Mandie-Republic war moves to Coruscant, Zayne's former flame Shel FINALLY realizes Zayne did not kill her brother and the other Padawans, so I can stop yelling a C-3PO-style "Trust him! Trust him!" at the page.
As it moves toward "Vector," the crossover with the other "Star Wars" titles of the time that begins with Issue 25, "Knights of the Old Republic's" slow-burn approach is gaining some momentum.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksFri, 27 Mar 2015 13:57:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/27/Star-Wars-flashback-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Issues-1324-2007‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Knights of the Old Republic’ Issues 0-12 (2006-07)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/24/Star-Wars-flashback-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Issues-012-200607
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"Firefly" -- a TV series loosely inspired by "Star Wars" -- started and ended in 2002, but it left an impression on the whole sci-fi industry. Dark Horse launched four new "Star Wars" titles a few years later, and three of them – "Knights of the Old Republic," "Dark Times" and "Legacy" -- featured ships with a ragtag crew of noble fugitives. Coincidence? I don't think so. At least subconsciously, I suspect these series were inspired by "Firefly," and they also paved the way for the current series "Star Wars Rebels," which also uses the band-on-the-run structure.
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First up chronologically is <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic_%28comics%29" target="_blank">"Knights of the Old Republic,"</a> the breakthrough series for writer John Jackson Miller, who would also go on to be a respected "Star Wars" novelist. Miller spends the opening arc ("Crossroads," Issue 0, and "Commencement," 1-6) introducing us to the thrown-together crew of the Last Resort and their predicaments: Zayne Carrick, a mediocre Padawan who gets framed by his masters for their murder of fellow Padawans; Gryph, a Snivvian (think Snaggletooth) criminal in the secretly big-hearted vein of Watto; Arkanians Jarael (a young warrior woman) and Camper (a scatterbrained old tech genius), who just want to be left alone; and finicky robot Elbee, who possesses video footage showing the masters' schemes.
Joining our heroes in the second arc ("Flashpoint," 7, 8 and 10) is the rogue Mandalorian Rohlan Dyre, who wants answers as to why his people are fighting this war against the Republic and Jedi.
When I first picked up this series, I was disappointed that "Knights" – which takes place 30 years after the "Tales of the Jedi" saga – didn't have the ancient feel of its predecessor. The art (by various contributors) is solid, but it doesn't have that "Tales" flavor in the costumes, vehicles and architecture. On the other hand, I do like that Coruscant doesn't appear quite as built up as it will three millennia later.
Another disappointment is the "Minority Report" plot; to see a group of Jedi conniving and scheming against Zayne is disturbing. Although Master Lucien and his cadre of seers frame Zayne because they believe he will turn into the next Sith menace, their evidence is scant, and I don't sympathize with them for a moment.
But I have to admit the six good guys pop off the page. I especially enjoy the interplay between Zayne and Gryph, rivals on opposite sides of the law who suddenly find themselves partners. And it's nice to see Zayne and Jarael prove their worth to each other with mutual rescues; could a romance be in the future?
Whereas the Jedi in "Tales of the Jedi" such as Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider operated at the forefront of a galactic conflict between Jedi and Sith, playing out epic arcs, Zayne and his new friends are operating in the underworlds (including that of Coruscant) and dark corners.
At the end of "Commencement," "Knights' " premise is established: Zayne will search for evidence of the actual Sith threat, if any. He also presents a rather brash challenge to his former Masters via hologram message: "I'm going to hunt down each and every one of you. The one that confesses (to the murders and the frame job), lives."
"Flashpoint" brings into play the Mandalorians – who had been encroaching on Republic space – as they kidnap Jarael, whom they mistake for a Jedi. The Mandalorian mad scientist Demagol is doing experiments to see what makes Jedi tick. This arc is decent thanks to the introduction of Dyre and the fascinating Mando culture where deserters are recaptured and sent to the front lines, where they'll either fight for the Mandos or die.
But in the next two arcs, "Knights' " momentum is unfortunately quelled. "Homecoming" (9) gives the backstory of Lucien. Despite his family's wealth, he had a rough upbringing because his mother treats him poorly. The issue doesn't do anything to make me sympathize with Lucien's murder of Padawans and framing of Zayne. "Reunion" (11-12) is another family story as we meet Zayne's father, a banker named Arvan. It's nice to know Zayne has family out there who support him. But the elder Carrick will no doubt become a bargaining chip in future yarns; at least he has the protection of being in the employ of Master Vandar, the Grand Master of this time who happens to be the same unnamed species as Yoda. While Vandar doesn't flat-out accept Zayne's claim of innocence, he's also suspicious of Lucien's group.
Despite the relative weakness of "Homecoming" and "Reunion," Miller's characters have me hooked. I especially want to see Zayne and Rohlan get their answers and vengeance from the established powers that have wronged them. And while "Knights" is initially a less epic yarn than "Tales of the Jedi," maybe these misfits can somehow reshape the galaxy in their journey. Or at least find their own little slices of freedom between the stars.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 24 Mar 2015 00:08:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/24/Star-Wars-flashback-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic-Issues-012-200607‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Purge’ comics (2005-13)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/15/Star-Wars-flashback-Purge-comics-200513
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As a kid, I imagined the Jedi Purge consisted of Darth Vader going from planet to planet slaughtering Jedi Knights. That's what naturally springs to mind when we hear Obi-Wan's line: "A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights." (In retrospect, it's kind of disturbing that a kid would dream up visions of mass murder in piecing together the backstory of his favorite movie, but that's beside the point here.)
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"Episode III's" Order 66 simplified the Jedi Purge: Responding to an implanted brain-trigger, the clones take the Jedi by surprise, killing them before they know what's happening. However, the old idea of Vader "hunting down" the Jedi still had a lot of appeal, partly because of Obi-Wan's dialogue (even though many of his lines in "A New Hope" were revealed as fibs in light of the prequels) and partly because it's common sense: Obi-Wan and Yoda escaped, and because it's a big galaxy, it follows that some other Jedi escaped as well. It's basic math.
It's not just a Legends concept. The earliest Disney canon stories – the novel "A New Dawn" and the TV show "Rebels" – feature as a main character the Jedi Kanan (OK, he's a Jedi-who-never-was, but he's in the ballpark). Ahsoka's survival is also official canon, to say nothing of Ezra, Luke and Leia. But Legends has absolutely adored the concept of "the last Jedi": Just off the top of my head, there's Jax Pavan, Dass Jennir, Kyle Katarn, Starkiller, Shaak Ti and Maris Brood.
There are also dark-side survivors, including the Inquisitor from "Rebels" in the Disney canon. As for the EU, in the "Rebellion" arc "The Ahakista Gambit," we learn that the dark-sider Sardoth helped in the Jedi Purge before the Emperor attempted to purge all the dark-siders as well.
Naturally, Dark Horse couldn't resist putting out some <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Purge_%28TPB%29" target="_blank">"Purge"</a> comics to truly delve into what Obi-Wan was talking about: the non-subtitled "Purge" (2005), "Seconds to Die" (2009), "The Hidden Blade" (2010) and the two-issue "The Tyrant's Fist" (2012-13). The five issues were collected in a July 2013 trade paperback.
The "Purge" comics suggest that Obi-Wan's quote is slightly off. Like a man with obsessive-compulsive disorder, Vader can't know peace until he kills every last Jedi in the galaxy. But the Emperor himself hardly cares that there a few scattered Jedi out there, and he's ticked off that Vader can't leave well enough alone. Vader kills eight Jedi in the 2005 "Purge" one-shot, and Palpatine uses the incident to spread rumors that Vader killed 50 Jedi. Vader is a blunt instrument; the Emperor is a schemer, and he'll find a use for his tool even when it malfunctions.
Written by John Ostrander of "Republic" fame and drawn by Doug Wheatley of "Dark Times" fame, this first "Purge" one-shot has crossover appeal as we catch up with Jedis Tsui Choi, who had appeared in several "Republic" issues, and Bultar Swan, who is on screen in "Episode II."
"Seconds to Die," also by Ostrander, is a clever style piece where Sha Koon, niece of Plo Koon, believes she is the last Jedi and must therefore try to kill Vader in the tunnels below the Jedi Temple. Ostrander shows that while the "Purge" template of Vader killing a Jedi straggler is hard to overcome, it doesn't mean he can't wheedle a happy ending out of it.
In Haden Blackman's "The Hidden Blade," the Emperor gives Vader the mission of overseeing production of AT-AT walkers. But he tempts his apprentice with the idea of a rogue Jedi on the planet, and when Vader takes the bait, Palpatine strands Vader there. (The cliffhanger isn't resolved, but his presence in future stories makes it clear Vader got off-planet somehow.) Similar to "Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin," the Emperor's scheme doesn't really hold together if you think too hard about it.
The "Purge" series wraps with its best story, despite coming from newcomer Alexander Freed, who would go on to write some "Old Republic" comics and Star Wars Insider short stories. Because it has two issues to work with, "The Tyrant's Fist" tells a deeper story about how the Empire purges not just the Jedi as people but also the Jedi as an idea. This is an important theme to tackle, because by the time of the classic trilogy a mere 20 years down the road, the Jedi and the Force have become ancient religions to John Q. Public (as personified by Han Solo).
When we watched "A New Hope" as kids, we subconsciously figured the Jedi Purge happened, say, 40 years ago, and the passage of time explains the knowledge gap. When the timeline got tightened to the official 20 years (which, in retrospect, is necessary, due to the ages of Luke and Leia), it made Freed's story essential.
In the ironically titled "The Tyrant's Fist," Vader has begun to learn lessons from his master. Rather than merely murdering the last Jedi on Vaklin – a planet that has long revered Jedi – Vader embarrasses him by exposing him to a toxin that makes him act foolish in public. Just as crucially, the Empire builds schools and offers citizens jobs.
At the start of the tale, the local Imperials doubt they can crush the insurgency; by the end, half of the people are enthusiastic about the Empire, half are waiting to see what happens. It's the way governments have gained power throughout history. As long as most people don't figure out that the government's wealth came from the people, and thus left them poorer, a government will always be seen as an entity that's looking out for the good of the downtrodden. (Oh, and the Empire also executes the most outspoken resistors. That helps speed things along.)
The sly purging of political ideas other than "Imperial might makes right" in "The Tyrant's Fist" repurposes the Jedi Purge as something even scarier than Vader committing mass murder.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSun, 15 Mar 2015 00:06:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/15/Star-Wars-flashback-Purge-comics-200513‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin’ (2013) and ‘Cry of Shadows’ (2013-14)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/14/Star-Wars-flashback-Darth-Vader-and-the-Ninth-Assassin-2013-and-Cry-of-Shadows-201314
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After writing the first two <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Vader_%28Dark_Horse%29" target="_blank">"Darth Vader"</a> series, veteran "Star Wars" scribe Haden Blackman handed the reins to Tim Siedell for the final two entries. These two five-issue series follow the formula of the second Blackman entry, "Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison." Rather than showing us Vader's thoughts, we instead see Vader cut a hellishly violent swatch across the galaxy in the wake of "Revenge of the Sith," telling his enemies things like "I AM justice!" before cutting them down.
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While I wouldn't recommend reading more than a couple "Darth Vader" series in one sitting, there is something grimly enticing about these yarns, and Siedell – despite being a newcomer to both comics and "Star Wars" – delivers them with a steady hand.
Despite the title, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Vader_and_the_Ninth_Assassin" target="_blank">"Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin"</a> (2013) is really about a single anonymous assassin who dons a mask similar to Vader's. The previous eight failed assassination attempts happened off-panel. Actually, the nameless assassin just stalks Vader, trying to catch him unaware. When Vader spots him in the last issue, it's all over.
Before that, Vader investigates an ancient superlaser being guarded by chaos worshipers (he grants them the chaos they desire by destroying their world) and ultimately steals a focusing crystal from the weapon. So we can add that crystal to the 1,000 other elements that go into the construction of the first Death Star and its superlaser in Legends canon. But the Disney canon will probably simplify the superlaser tale in a future "Rebels" arc, perhaps using the giant Kyber Crystal from the unfinished "Crystal Crisis on Utapau" arc of "The Clone Wars" as the focusing crystal.
In the end, we learn that the Emperor staged all the events as a test for Vader, but the twist isn't really earned. The rich businessman who desires revenge for Vader killing his son is broadly sympathetic, but beyond that, a reader won't connect with any of the characters in "Ninth Assassin."
Siedel's next effort, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Vader_and_the_Cry_of_Shadows" target="_blank">"Darth Vader and the Cry of Shadows"</a> (2013-14), is a nice step up. We follow clone trooper Hock Malsuum through the emotionally driven development of his political views. Left for dead on a battlefield during the Clone Wars, Hock understandably loathes the Jedi.
While some clones – like family man Cut Lawquane from "Clone Wars" Season 2 – are able to leave the army and carve out a life, Hock is not good at being alone. He desires the camaraderie of his fellow troopers. Conveniently for him, Darth Vader hates the Jedi as much as he does, and the Republic army has morphed into the Imperial army, so he can join up again. A bit slow on the uptake, Hock serves at Vader's side until he sees the dark lord mow down a village of backwater folks, including children, who just want to be left alone. At that point, he suspects Vader might be evil.
"Cry of Shadows" has good messages: The enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend, because there are more than two ways of looking at things. And if you have to go against an ideal in order to achieve an ideal (for example, the Empire aiming for peace via violence), it's probably not worth doing.
As with Blackman's "Darth Vader" titles, Siedel's are set soon after "Episode III," so we see the evolution of the Empire's armaments, with Vader flying a V-wing and the troopers still wearing clone trooper armor rather than stormtrooper armor.
Still, the Empire has begun to tiptoe into the era of using enlistees instead of clones, and Hock already sees it's a disastrous decision. He foresees the stormtroopers that we'll see 14 years later in "Rebels" when he thinks: "Just a few replacements. That's all it took to undermine the infrastructure. ... Lifelong training. Purpose. Replaced by those merely seeking a job. I envisioned an army of troopers who couldn't hit anything they shot at."
Early scuttlebutt says Marvel is doing a nice job getting into the Sith lord's psyche in its new "Darth Vader" series set between Episodes IV and V. Among Dark Horse's "Vader" titles, only "Darth Vader and the Lost Command" gives us a substantial window into Vader's mind. The other three entries merely show us why we should fear him. Still, that's an important background to have before getting into his head.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSat, 14 Mar 2015 00:51:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/14/Star-Wars-flashback-Darth-Vader-and-the-Ninth-Assassin-2013-and-Cry-of-Shadows-201314‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Darth Vader and the Lost Command’ (2011) and ‘Ghost Prison’ (2012)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/13/Star-Wars-flashback-Darth-Vader-and-the-Lost-Command-2011-and-Ghost-Prison-2012
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Disney is delving heavily into the dark side in its early "Star Wars" projects, from the novels "Tarkin" (2014) and "Lords of the Sith" (April) to the recently launched "Darth Vader" comic series that explores the Sith lord between Episodes IV and V. The old continuity, now known as Legends, trod similar ground in its final years, particularly with the four five-issue comic series under the <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Vader_%28Dark_Horse%29" target="_blank">"Darth Vader"</a> banner.
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Unlike Marvel's "Darth Vader," Dark Horse's "Darth Vader" explored the character right after "Revenge of the Sith," when Palpatine's Empire was held together by citizens' fear of the Emperor and the iron fist of his primary enforcer. While authors delved into the head of Darth Vader as soon as the main beats of his backstory were completed in 2005 (I believe Karen Traviss' short story "A Two-Edged Sword" was the first story from Vader's POV), Haden Blackman delivered one of the most daring tales with <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Vader_and_the_Lost_Command" target="_blank">"Darth Vader and the Lost Command"</a> (2011).
I always liked Steve Perry's "Shadows of the Empire" revelation that the dark side keeps Vader alive – so much so that when he experiences happiness about healing his lungs with the Force, he immediately relapses because he has lost touch with the dark side. So it's not simply that Vader has buried his past, as many people do if they've experienced traumatic events, but rather that he will literally die if he thinks happy thoughts. At the same time, his thoughts of Padme keep him focused, whereas if he were totally to give himself to the dark side, he'd lose all sense of himself.
Blackman continues with this idea, as "Lost Command" opens with strikingly contradictory images. Vader dreams of a life that could have been with Padme: They have a son named Jinn, and Anakin goes on missions wiping out the last of the Sith while Padme serves as supreme chancellor. But in reality, the "neural links" to Vader's machine parts are being reset, and it's so physically painful that he dreams of this false reality to "keep me sane."
Just as the Emperor values Vader's anger – and often provokes it – he believes the third most powerful man in the galaxy, Grand Moff Tarkin, will also be a better servant if he's angry. So in classic Palpatine fashion, he sends Vader to secretly kill Tarkin's son, Garoche, while also taking out some enemies of the Empire. (This element of Tarkin's story wasn't continued in Legends canon, nor was it carried over to Disney canon. Wookieepedia tells me Garoche's mom is Thalassa Tarkin, from Russ Manning's newspaper strip story "Princess Leia, Imperial Servant," but that's not mentioned in the story.)
"Lost Command" is peppered with Vader's visions of Padme, along with awesome shots of him fighting without his helmet on. All told, the pitch-black tragedy of this character seeps into the reader's psyche.
A more common type of Vader tale comes in Blackman's <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Vader_and_the_Ghost_Prison" target="_blank">"Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison"</a> (2012). As if he doesn't want to get quite so close to Vader again, the author tells this story from the perspective of Imperial officer Laurita Tohm, a recent graduate of the Academy. Tohm gets a close-up view of Vader's actions, making "Ghost Prison" similar to many Vader stories in other series, notably "Empire," "Rebellion" and Brian Wood's "Star Wars." While "Ghost Prison's" structure is familiar, it's one of the elite stories in this subgenre, capped off by a final-page surprise that shouldn't be surprising. (After all, Vader has never played well with others.)
Truth be told, Tohm's headspace isn't that much of a relief from Vader's. Imperial Headmaster Gentis recruits an entire graduating class of cadets to join him in an open rebellion against Palpatine, whose warmongering has led to the deaths of so many of Gentis' students. (That Gentis would be able to pull this off without being backstabbed by a single student is extremely unlikely. As history shows us, rebellions structured around small cells, guerilla tactics and secret codes – what the Rebel Alliance will do – are more likely to succeed.) Tohm stays loyal to the Emperor and Vader, though, and – in a nice tie-in to the "Empire" arc "Betrayal" – future Grand Moff Trachta is also along for the ride.
Blackman's juicy idea of the title – reflecting the U.S. military's Gitmo prison -- is that the Jedi Order maintained a hidden prison for its most dangerous enemies during the Clone Wars. Vader (rather conveniently) finds a recording of a council meeting where Yoda says, "When this conflict ends, bring these criminals to trial we will. But while war rages, in our care they must remain."
Often good at tying his stories into the wider saga (see "Jango Fett: Open Seasons"), Blackman references some Jedi from the "Clone Wars" saga when we meet the prisoners and learn how they were captured. It's a missed opportunity to bring back some "Clone Wars" villains, but at least the Dark Jedi Shonn Volta – who can guide blaster bolts – is a good ally for Tohm.
Dark Horse's "Darth Vader" comics are also a treasure trove for fans interested in vehicles, as we see the evolution of Imperial craft. For example, Vader flies in a V-wing, the predecessor of the TIE fighter. The Empire also uses LAATi gunships (from "Episode II") and walkers (from "Episode V"). As "Lost Command" shows us, the latter don't work as well in quicksand as they do in snow.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksFri, 13 Mar 2015 03:22:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/13/Star-Wars-flashback-Darth-Vader-and-the-Lost-Command-2011-and-Ghost-Prison-2012‘Star Wars’ flashback: Brian Wood’s ‘Star Wars’ Issues 13-20 (2014) and 2012-13 FCBD storieshttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/12/Star-Wars-flashback-Brian-Woods-Star-Wars-Issues-1320-2014-and-201213-FCBD-stories
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After the first 12 issues established <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_%28Dark_Horse%29" target="_blank">Brian Wood's "Star Wars"</a> as a character-driven series that aspired to tell the definitive story of what happened between Episodes IV and V, it takes a slight step backward with Issues 13-20 (2014). Had the series continued beyond this, it probably would've paid off some of its big ideas, but it was canceled due to the license switching from Dark Horse to Disney, and it ended up limping to the finish line.
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The second year of Wood's "Star Wars" starts with "Five Days of Sith" (Issues 13-14), told from the perspective of 21-year-old Ensign Nanda, who is assigned as Darth Vader's shuttle pilot for an off-the-books mission to punish what he sees as failures in the ranks. She's terrified the whole time as Vader acts like a jackass, killing Imperial officers left and right for no reason. It's an effective portrayal of the helplessness one would feel when trapped in a corrupt dictatorship, but it feels more like an "Empire" or "Darth Vader and the ..." story.
There is one notable continuity glitch in "Five Days of Sith." Vader replays the "A New Hope" fight with Kenobi in his mind and plucks out the name "Luke" and fits it with "Skywalker," which had popped into his head earlier in the series. This shows a disregard for Marvel Volume 1 Issue 35 and "Vader's Quest," in which Vader acquired the name Luke Skywalker by scouring the galaxy for information. While those yarns are convoluted, having the name simply pop into Vader's head seems lazy in addition to being contradictory.
Up next, we return to the main storyline with "Rebel Girl" (15-18), which feels like a lost story from Marvel Volume 1, albeit better than most of those yarns. Leia agrees to marry the prince of Arrochar as part of a contract where the planet will allow the Rebels to set up a base. Wood makes mention of Arrochar wanting to join an "alliance of planets," which is a misunderstanding of the covert nature of the Rebel Alliance. There are no "Alliance planets," because the Empire would simply blow them up if they labeled themselves thusly.
Immediately, I thought "All it will take is ONE citizen to rat out the planet to the Empire." This is why planets without intelligent life work best for bases. (Granted, Arbra's Hoojibs turned out to be intelligent, but they also are less back-stabby than humans.) Indeed, it turns out that Arrochar's government leaders went behind the prince's back and made a deal with the Empire. File that under "duh."
While the Rebellion doesn't stay on Arrochar long, it does gain one valuable bit of information that will prove crucial in "Episode V": Its ion cannons work.
"Rebel Girl" is one of those stories that's both ill-conceived and well-written. For example, Han tells Wedge: "I don't think Leia needs to sell herself off like this for the sake of a military base. ... Leia's a force of nature. Most days she could take on the Empire all on her own and win, so why is this necessary?" Sometimes when the characters echo the concerns of the reader, it salvages the tale a bit.
Wood's "Star Wars" gets its mojo back in its final arc, "Shattered Hope," a.k.a. "Where Droids Go to Die" (19-20). Riffing on "Saving Private Ryan," Leia impulsively gathers up Han, Chewie, Luke and the Falcon to rescue undercover agent Seren Song during a hard time when Mon Mothma can't spare any Alliance ships. Even Han has to skimp on the Falcon's repairs, apparently, as the ship is back to using fluidics, which he swore off of back in "Han Solo's Revenge." ("Damn fluidics!")
Song is on Lotho Minor, the garbage planet where Darth Maul went insane on "The Clone Wars," and she's being pursued by IG-88. In the end, she provides the Alliance with Imperial planetary surveys, which will help in the search for a new base. This information might explain why the Rebels have a list of potential planets, including Hoth, in the novel "Honor Among Thieves." The Goodwin/Williamson newspaper strip "Iceworld" told the tale of Luke and the droids stumbling upon Hoth, but I wonder if Wood would have rewritten the discovery-of-Hoth story had the series continued.
Putting a bow on Wood's contributions to the saga, he also wrote the 2013 Free Comic Book Day issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Assassination_of_Darth_Vader" target="_blank">"The Assassination of Darth Vader,"</a> which is collected in Volume 1 of the trade paperbacks for Wood's "Star Wars." Set shortly before "A New Hope," this is an outstanding dark character piece where Vader goes to incredible lengths – climbing on the outside of a Star Destroyer to get to the bridge! – to thwart an attempt on his life by an underling. Boba Fett helps Vader out of the jam, perhaps setting the stage for their good relations in future stories since they weren't getting along too well in "Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire."
The only non-Wood story in the four TPB volumes of Wood's "Star Wars" is the inconsequential Han-and-Chewbacca riff <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Art_of_the_Bad_Deal" target="_blank">"The Art of the Bad Deal."</a> This 2012 Free Comic Book Day entry was collected in Volume 4 of the trade paperbacks for Wood's "Star Wars. It was penned by Zack Whedon, who has done nice work on the "Serenity" comics. Like Wood's FCBD entry, it seems to be set slightly before "A New Hope," during Han and Chewie's smuggling days. Basically, Chewie is irked that Han makes a bad deal, then leaves him tied up out of spite after knocking out the stowaways attempting to steal the Falcon.
While Wood's "Star Wars" series will perhaps be forgotten, as it has immediately been supplanted by the Lucasfilm Story Group-backed Marvel Volume 2, it shouldn't be. Granted, his attention to continuity was a mixed bag: He would make an insider reference to something like "fluidics" on one page, then re-imagine Vader's discovery of Luke's name on the next. Nonetheless, the best writing of Leia in the wake of "A New Hope" occurs in this series, and he also does nice work with Luke, Han, Wedge and Mon Mothma. It's a shame we didn't see the full extent of Wood's vision for "Star Wars."
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksThu, 12 Mar 2015 00:26:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/12/Star-Wars-flashback-Brian-Woods-Star-Wars-Issues-1320-2014-and-201213-FCBD-stories‘Star Wars’ flashback: Brian Wood’s ‘Star Wars’ Issues 1-12 (2013)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/11/Star-Wars-flashback-Brian-Woods-Star-Wars-112-2013
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As proven earlier this year when Marvel's relaunch of the saga broke sales records, Issue No. 1s of series simply titled "Star Wars" draw a lot of interest. They also cause confusion for organizational purposes, as there are now four series by that name. The series that started in 1977 has traditionally been called Marvel "Star Wars," but now we'll have to call it Marvel Volume 1, with the 2015 series called Marvel Volume 2. Dark Horse's 1998 series was retitled "Republic" during its run, so that's what we call it. And I propose calling Dark Horse's 2013-14 series <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_%28Dark_Horse%29" target="_blank">Brian Wood's "Star Wars,"</a> since he wrote all 20 issues.
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While Marvel Volume 2 is a true reboot, as part of the Lucasfilm Story Group's new canon, the Wood series was rumored to be a reboot of the continuity. Thankfully, this turned out not to be the case, so we can enjoy connections to other stories and the challenge of fitting it into the Legends timeline. It's probably impossible, as we're told this series starts five months after the Battle of Yavin, yet Vader knows the name Skywalker, thus placing it after "Vader's Quest" and Marvel Volume 1 Issue 35, which seem to take place much more than five months into the three-year span between "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back."
Additionally, Wedge invents the name Rogue Squadron here, placing this series after all the stories where his group was called Red Squadron – notably the "Empire"/"Rebellion" series (which mistakenly uses "Rogue" at times, but "Red" predominates).
Also, the second Death Star is being constructed during this time – and it looks almost as far along as it will in "Return of the Jedi," suggesting placement further away from the Battle of Yavin.
Despite the proliferation of stories set between the Battles of Yavin and Hoth, Issues 1-12 (2013) of Wood's "Star Wars" add a surprising amount of rich material. Some of it feels familiar, such as Han and Chewie going on a weapons-procurement mission where they meet up with a cute garbage-scow operator named Perla and get chased by Boba Fett and Bossk. Han notes that this is his first return to Coruscant since he was in the Imperial Academy in the "Han Solo Trilogy."
Luke goes through his paces as a budding Jedi and a hotshot pilot (a little too hot, because at one point Leia suspends him from Stealth Squadron!), and adds another almost-love-interest to his tally with the Chalactan cutie Prithi, who has a touch of Force potential.
Wood gives attention to two characters who had previously been overlooked during this time period. One is Mon Mothma, the Rebellion's strategist. The other is Wedge Antilles, who is part of Leia's Stealth Squadron. I love the fact that Wedge mentions Mala Tinero to Luke when they reminisce while hiding in a Star Destroyer ventilation shaft. Mala was Wedge's love interest in Rob Williams' short story "Lucky" in "Star Wars Tales" Issue 23, so Wood brings that Infinities story into Legends. (Incidentally, I hope the LSG canon similarly incorporates some Legends elements.) Wedge never mentions Mala in Michael Stackpole's "Rogue Squadron" series, but it seems fitting that Luke is the friend he opens up to.
The real eye-opener in Wood's "Star Wars" is Leia. The author does a masterful job of balancing Leia's dual roles as leader and warrior. In "A New Hope," she was a warrior on the Death Star, then a leader during the Battle of Yavin. In Marvel Volume 1 and the Goodwin/Williamson strips, she leaned toward leader, and in "Empire"/"Rebellion," she leaned toward warrior. Here, she is both – she leads the missions to find a new Rebel base, but flies an X-wing herself. Yet Wood doesn't make her a better pilot than Wedge or Luke; indeed, her X-wing gets pretty banged-up on these missions, like her Y-wing in "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" -- but it's safe to say Alan Dean Foster's meek Leia is not the accepted portrayal anymore. Wood doesn't make Leia superhuman, though: At various points, she shows jealousy toward Prithi and Perla.
Boosted by vibrant art from Carlos D'Anda (pencils and inks, Issues 1-6, 10-12), Ryan Kelly (pencils, 7-9), Dan Parsons (inks, 7-9) and Gabe Eltaeb (colors), Wood's "Star Wars" unfolds like a novel. This is partly a bad thing, because the story moves slower than most comics.
But I generally mean it in a good way. We are privy to Leia's thoughts as she mourns Alderaan. She comes across Tag Rogaren, the weapons systems engineer, who maintains a vigil in the graveyard of rocks where the planet used to be. Rogaren is something like the 100th different person involved with the construction of the first Death Star in the EU; I expect "Rebels" will streamline the process a bit, perhaps building upon the giant Kyber crystal from "The Clone Wars' " "Crystal Crisis on Utapau" arc.
While Wood isn't strictly interested in showing off the major linkages between Episodes IV and V (since things like the bounty hunter of Ord Mantell and the discovery of Hoth have been thoroughly covered), these issues do feel similar to Timothy Zahn's "Thrawn Trilogy" and Steve Perry's "Shadows of the Empire" in that we return to familiar people and locations. I love it when Luke and Leia stop by the old Lars homestead and Luke apologizes to his aunt's and uncle's graves for being a bad son.
I know Marvel Volume 2 is the "official" chronicle of our heroes during this time and Wood's "Star Wars" is "merely" Legends. But it sure feels like a proper continuation of the saga and sets the bar high.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksWed, 11 Mar 2015 00:01:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/11/Star-Wars-flashback-Brian-Woods-Star-Wars-112-2013‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Rebellion’ Issues 0-14 (2006-08)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/10/Star-Wars-flashback-Rebellion-Issues-014-200608
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Last year's creation of the Lucasfilm Story Group to make all future stories tie together was the biggest reorganizing of continuity in "Star Wars" history, but it wasn't the first. Dark Horse did a soft reboot of sorts in 2006 when it canceled its existing titles and launched four new ongoing titles: "Knights of the Old Republic," "Dark Times," "Rebellion" and "Legacy."
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Unlike the other three, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Rebellion_%28comics%29" target="_blank">"Rebellion"</a> was new in name only, as it was a straight continuation from the 40-issue "Empire" series. I'll look at Issues 0-14 (2006-08) of "Rebellion" in this post, then analyze Issues 15-16 when I get to my review of "Vector," a crossover featuring all four ongoing titles.
As with "Empire," the strength of these three "Rebellion" arcs is the way it gets into characters' heads. Usually this is done through first-person or third-person-omniscient narration, but in "The Ahakista Gambit" (Issues 6-10) by Brandon Badeaux and Rob Williams, the evil information broker Raze actually communicates directly into the brain of his employee Wyl Tarson, who is also a Rebel double agent.
All three arcs chronicle short-on-confidence folks who play small roles in the Rebellion – accomplishing missions that, when multiplied by the hundreds, add up to the Alliance's ultimate victory. "Ahakista Gambit" is one of my favorite small character studies in the whole EU. It's not easy to do "subtle" in a comic book, but Badeaux, Williams and artist Michel Lacombe pull it off.
For example, panels featuring Raze back at his HQ are peppered throughout the story. Raze keeps reminding Wyl that he owns him -- due to the bomb planted in his head -- and he also exerts influence on Wyl's love interest Laynara, who rocks a Padme-style white jumpsuit. In these panels, Raze is served by handmaidens – whom he also abuses and perhaps literally owns as slaves – and on the last panel, we see one of them pull a dagger from a sheath. Good stuff.
Another interesting tidbit in "Ahakista Gambit" is that a dark Force-user, Sardoth, says Palpatine made use of him and other dark Jedi early in the Rebellion, but then had Darth Vader purge them from the Empire's ranks (although Palpatine obviously held onto a few Inquisitors; indeed, an Imperial threatens Luke and Leia with Inquisitors in the next arc). Siths' views of whether a dark-sider is allowed into the inner circle or not have always been ill-defined; while Sardoth correctly notes "I could have been your ally," Vader offs him.
The other two arcs don't have quite the same storytelling beauty of "Ahakista Gambit," but they're hook-laden due to featuring main characters. "Crossroads" (0), by Jeremy Barlow (under the pseudonym Thomas Andrews), and "My Brother, My Enemy" (1-5), by Williams (with art by Badeaux and Lacombe), continue directly from the final arc of the "Empire" comics as Janek "Tank" Sunber, Luke's old pal from Tatooine, is haunted by nightmares. Is he right to serve the Empire or is Luke right to rebel against it?
To readers, it's not much of an argument; Luke deflects Tank's accusation of criminality by asking if Biggs and Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were criminals. But it's hard to overcome Imperial schooling. Then again, it's even harder to overcome actual brainwashing, and former Rebel detainee Jorin Sol pulls it off. But it's still good stuff, and it seemed Dark Horse considered continuing Sunber's arc, as it's strongly implied he survived in an escape pod. Alas, we didn't get that story.
Continuing the conflicted-souls theme, "Small Victories" (11-14) picks up the arc of Deena Shan, who has a running inner monologue berating herself for not being as heroic as Han, Luke and Leia (the latter two feature in this story, but Han sits on the bench). Written by Barlow and drawn by Colin Wilson, "Small Victories" is a half-step down for the series, but I still like Deena despite her whininess. She's one of those beautiful yet unconfident women you only find in comic books, but I was still happy to see her prove her worth. It would've been neat to see a romance blossom between her and Luke, but that's another thread that died with the end of "Rebellion," and now the end of the EU.
More evidence that "Rebellion's" cancellation after 16 issues surprised the writers is that Barlow sets up the next mission in the final act of "Small Victories." Shan learns that the Imperials are ramping up to take on the Rebel fleet at Ansion. Barlow introduces Dagger Squadron, the first B-wing squadron, which includes Nera Dantels, girlfriend of the late Biggs, and we're told it will be perfect for the Ansion mission.
While "Rebellion" had far too short of a run, it's definitely worth checking out for people who want a taste of the Rebel Alliance's unhyped yet crucial military victories, plus some great character writing and significant roles for Luke and Leia.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 10 Mar 2015 02:51:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/10/Star-Wars-flashback-Rebellion-Issues-014-200608‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Suicide Run’ (1998)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/1/Terminator-flashback-Suicide-Run-1998
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-dhp-138.jpg">
Before I delve into the 21st century "Terminator" media, there's one last 20th century item worth noting: "Suicide Run," a 10-page story in "Dark Horse Presents" Issue 138 (December 1998). It's the only "Terminator" short comic and the only black-and-white comic.
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Written by Alan Grant, it thankfully adheres to his gritty "Death Valley" style rather than his more kid-friendly approach on "The Dark Years" and "Superman versus The Terminator." With appropriately inky art by Frank Teran, "Suicide Run" chronicles one mission in 2029, giving us a slice of life (and lots of death) in the Future War. It's for "Terminator" completists more so than the casual fan.
CHARACTERS
John, Sarah and Kyle: Not in this story, although John is mentioned in Ali's narration: "John Connor must be a special guy. Two of my friends have died for his cause. I'm going to die for it, too."
Ali: A young soldier who has terminal bone cancer, the story's narrator agrees to outfit herself with a bomb in order to infiltrate and destroy a key Skynet location, a "data control tower." She is led there by other resistance soldiers, several of whom are picked off along the way.
TERMINATORS
Endoskeletons: The usual suspects.
CONTINUITY
"Suicide Run" is a slice of life in the 2029 Future War before the events of "Death Valley," making it the first chronological story (in terms of causal determinism, not the calendar) in Dark Horse's second stint with the license.
Stamford, a resistance soldier who will later be kidnapped and tortured by Skynet in "Death Valley," is name-dropped in "Suicide Run" as the architect of Ali's mission. Appropriately, he likewise chooses suicide – taking out a Terminator in the process – rather than give up information on John in "Death Valley."
The endoskeleton who gets its hands on Ali before she blows them both up says: "Tell me of John Connor's childhood. Where did he live? Where did his mother hide him?" When Skynet finally does get this info, it sends back a pair of T-800s to 1998 and it leads to the events of "Death Valley." But Ali isn't the one to share the information.
As it chronicles a costly mission to take out Skynet's "data control tower," "Suicide Run" is perhaps the bleakest "Terminator" war tale since "The Burning Earth."
TIME TRAVEL
There is no time travel in this story.
TerminatorComic booksSun, 01 Mar 2015 02:10:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/1/Terminator-flashback-Suicide-Run-1998Index of my ‘Terminator’ reviewshttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/28/Index-of-my-Terminator-reviews
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-logo.jpg">
To help you follow along with my "Terminator" reviews leading up to the July release of "Terminator Genisys," here is a list of all the "Terminator" movies, TV series, comic books and novels in order of release date:
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/6/Terminator-flashback-The-Terminator-movie-1984-and-novelizations-198485" target="_blank">"The Terminator" (movie and Hutson novelization, October 1984, and Frakes novelization, November 1985)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/8/Terminator-flashback-Now-Comics-original-series-Issues-18-198889" target="_blank">"The Terminator" Issues 1-8 (Now Comics, September 1988-May 1989)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/9/Terminator-flashback-Now-Comics-original-series-Issues-917-198990" target="_blank">"The Terminator" Issues 9-17 (Now Comics, June 1989-February 1990)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/10/Terminator-flashback-The-Burning-Earth-1990" target="_blank">"The Burning Earth" (Now Comics, March-July 1990)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/11/Terminator-flashback-All-My-Futures-Past-1990" target="_blank">"All My Future's Past" (Now Comics, August-September 1990)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/12/Terminator-flashback-Tempest-1990" target="_blank">"Tempest" (Dark Horse Comics, August-November 1990)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/13/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-2-Judgment-Day-movie-and-novelization-1991" target="_blank">"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (movie and novelization, July 1991, and Marvel Comics adaptation, September-October 1991)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/14/Terminator-flashback-One-Shot-1991" target="_blank">"One Shot" (Dark Horse Comics, July 1991)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/15/Terminator-flashback-Secondary-Objectives-1991" target="_blank">"Secondary Objectives" (Dark Horse Comics, July-October 1991)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/16/Terminator-flashback-The-Enemy-Within-199192" target="_blank">"The Enemy Within" (Dark Horse Comics, November 1991-February 1992)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/17/Terminator-flashback-Hunters-and-Killers-1992" target="_blank">"Hunters and Killers" (Dark Horse Comics, March-May 1992)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/18/Terminator-flashback-Endgame-1992" target="_blank">"End Game" (Dark Horse Comics, September-October 1992)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/19/Terminator-flashback-RoboCop-versus-The-Terminator-1992" target="_blank">"RoboCop versus The Terminator" (Dark Horse Comics, September-December 1992)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/20/Terminator-flashback-Cybernetic-Dawn-199596" target="_blank">"T2: Cybernetic Dawn" (Malibu Comics, November 1995-April 1996)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/21/Terminator-flashback-Nuclear-Twilight-199596" target="_blank">"T2: Nuclear Twilight" (Malibu Comics, November 1995-April 1996)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/22/Terminator-flashback-Death-Valley-1998" target="_blank">"Death Valley" (Dark Horse Comics, August-December 1998)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/1/Terminator-flashback-Suicide-Run-1998" target="_blank">"Dark Horse Presents" Issue 138 (Dark Horse Comics, December 1998)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/23/Terminator-flashback-The-Dark-Years-1999" target="_blank">"The Dark Years" (Dark Horse Comics, August-December 1999)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/24/Terminator-flashback-Superman-versus-The-Terminator-Death-to-the-Future-2000" target="_blank">"Superman versus The Terminator: Death to the Future" (Dark Horse Comics and DC Comics, December 1999-March 2000)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/25/Terminator-flashback-Aliens-versus-Predator-versus-Terminator-2000" target="_blank">"Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator" (Dark Horse Comics, April-July 2000)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/5/4/Terminator-flashback-T2-Infiltrator-2001" target="_blank">"T2: Infiltrator" (novel, July 2001)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/5/15/Terminator-flashback-Rising-Storm-2002" target="_blank">"T2: Rising Storm" (novel, July 2002)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/6/21/Terminator-flashback-T2-The-New-John-Connor-Chronicles-Book-One--Dark-Futures" target="_blank">"T2: The New John Connor Chronicles Book One: Dark Futures" (novel, August 2002)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/7/3/Terminator-flashback-T2-The-New-John-Connor-Chronicles-Book-Two-An-Evil-Hour-2003" target="_blank">"T2: The New John Connor Chronicles Book Two: An Evil Hour" (novel, May 2003)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/6/12/Terminator-flashback-T2-The-Future-War-2003" target="_blank">"T2: The Future War" (novel, July 2003)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/7/6/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-3-Rise-of-the-Machines-movie-and-novelization-2003" target="_blank">"Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (movie and novelization, July 2003)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/7/10/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-3-Beckett-comics-2003" target="_blank">"Terminator 3" (Beckett Comics, July-December 2003)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/7/9/Terminator-flashback-T2-The-New-John-Connor-Chronicles-Book-Three-Times-of-Trouble-2003" target="_blank">"T2: The New John Connor Chronicles Book Three: Times of Trouble" (novel, August 2003)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/9/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-3-Terminator-Dreams-2003" target="_blank">"T3: Terminator Dreams" (novel, December 2003)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/1/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-2-Hour-of-the-Wolf-2004" target="_blank">"T2: Hour of the Wolf" (novel, July 2004)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/15/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-3-Terminator-Hunt-2004" target="_blank">"T3: Terminator Hunt" (novel, December 2004)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/16/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-2-Infinity-2007" target="_blank">"T2: Infinity" (Dynamite Comics, July-November 2007)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/17/Terminator-flashback-TerminatorPainkiller-Jane-Time-to-Kill-2008" target="_blank">"Terminator/Painkiller Jane: Time to Kill" (Dynamite Comics, January-March 2008)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/10/18/Terminator-flashback-The-Sarah-Connor-Chronicles-Season-1-2008" target="_blank">"The Sarah Connor Chronicles" Season 1 (TV series, January-March 2008)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2016/6/6/Terminator-flashback-The-Sarah-Connor-Chronicles-Season-2-200809" target="_blank">"The Sarah Connor Chronicles" Season 2 (TV series, September 2008-March 2009)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/9/18/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Revolution-2009" target="_blank">"Revolution" (Dynamite Comics, January-May 2009)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/5/31/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Salvation-Sand-in-the-Gears-2009" target="_blank">"Salvation: Sand in the Gears" (IDW Comics, February-April 2009)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/5/30/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Salvation-From-the-Ashes-2009" target="_blank">"Salvation: From the Ashes" (novel, March 2009)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/6/4/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Salvation-movie-novelization-and-comic-book-2009" target="_blank">"Terminator Salvation" (IDW comic preview, April 2009; movie and novelization, May 2009)</a>
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/6/7/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Salvation-Cold-War-2009" target="_blank">"Salvation: Cold War" (novel, October 2009)</a>
"Salvation: The Machinima Series" (animated series on DVD, November 2009)
"Terminator: 2029" (Dark Horse Comics, March-May 2010)
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2017/6/11/Terminator-flashback-Terminator-Salvation-Trial-By-Fire" target="_blank">"Salvation: Trial By Fire" (novel, July 2010)</a>
"Terminator: 1984" (Dark Horse Comics, September-November 2010)
"Terminator/RoboCop: Kill Human" (Dynamite Comics, 2011)
"Salvation: The Final Battle" Volume 1 (Dark Horse Comics, December 2013-May 2014)
"Enemy of My Enemy" (Dark Horse Comics, February-October 2014)
"Salvation: The Final Battle" Volume 2 (Dark Horse Comics, July-December 2014)
<a href="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/7/1/Terminator-Genisys-is-a-smart-sequel-and-fresh-start-for-the-saga" target="_blank">"Terminator Genisys" (movie, July 2015)</a>
MoviesBooksTelevisionTelevision (Classic)TerminatorComic books*Index: Terminator ReviewsSat, 28 Feb 2015 02:08:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/28/Index-of-my-Terminator-reviews‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator’ (2000)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/25/Terminator-flashback-Aliens-versus-Predator-versus-Terminator-2000
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//aliens-vs-predator-vs-terminator.jpg">
<a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Aliens_vs._Predator_vs._The_Terminator" target="_blank">"Alien versus Predator versus The Terminator"</a> (2000) – the final installment of Dark Horse's second stint with the Terminator" license – is a fun romp that intelligently brings together the three franchises.
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Writer Mark Schultz leans toward an "Aliens" focus in the four-issue series. I have no problem with this because I am a fan of that franchise, too, and he nicely continues the "Alien Resurrection" arcs of Call – the android who feels like she's human – and Ripley – the human with alien blood who feels disconnected from everything. John Connor plays a brief but crucial role as a messenger from the past.
Often, Skynet has looked to change the past when it's on the brink of defeat, but in "AvPvT," it displays a prime trait of machines – patience – and aims to defeat humans in the future, no matter how long it takes.
Mel Rubi's pencils are nicely accented by Christopher Ivy's inks and David Stewart's colors, making "AvPvT" a slick, glossy package. Future John doesn't look like most incarnations, but I was used to this version from "The Dark Years." The artists' Call and Ripley likenesses are very good.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: Call (the android from "Alien Resurrection" played by Winona Ryder) taps into the deceased Infiltrator Terminator named Dr. Trollenberg and finds a message secretly implanted by John back in the 21st century. He warns of Skynet's plan to re-create itself.
Sarah Connor: Not in this story.
Kyle Reese: Not in this story.
Ellen Ripley: In a nice bit of synergy with "Alien," her arc (and life) concludes when she sneaks aboard the vessel of the last surviving Alien-Terminator Hybrid and kills it using her acidic xenomorph blood.
Call: The "Alien Resurrection" android continues to fight for humanity's survival. She discovers John Connor's warning about Skynet.
Predators: Already a strange bedfellow with xenomorphs, Ripley teams up with Predators here. Like humans, Predators don't want Skynet to take over the universe.
TERMINATORS
Dr. Trollenberg: He's an Infiltrator model (perhaps a T-800 or T-850) who passes for human for three centuries while seeking a way to resurrect Skynet. He perfects an Alien-Terminator Hybrid.
Alien-Terminator Hybrids: ATHs are seen by Skynet as the perfect being. They are "killing machines that absorb strength from their surroundings." Trollenberg creates two initial ATHs which proceed to the next aspect of the mission: assembling an army of ATHs using a cache of flash-frozen aliens stored on an asteroid military base as raw material. But a big battle involving Ripley, Predators and xenomorphs results in the deaths of the two ATHs, thus killing Skynet once and for all.
CONTINUITY
"AvPvT" is by far the most future-set story on any "Terminator" timeline, taking place soon after "Alien Resurrection," which is set in 2379. Technically, this series picks up from "Death Valley," "The Dark Years" and "Superman versus The Terminator," but due to taking place so far in the future, it can be read as a standalone story.
The resistance won the war during John Connor's lifetime in the 21st century, but Skynet is patient. Its most advanced Infiltrator model can pass for human, so one of them, Dr. Trollenberg, bides his time for three centuries until he has the proper strategy to resurrect Skynet.
Dark Horse likes to put a definitive capper on its "Terminator" timelines. The first time it had the license, the story ended with Sarah giving birth to Jane rather than John ("Endgame"). And in "AvPvT," Skynet gets wiped out for good. (Well, unless there's another Infiltrator hiding somewhere, I suppose.)
Could "Terminator" and "Aliens/Predator" exist in the same reality? Yes, if we're talking about the timeline of Dark Horse's second stint with "Terminator." On this timeline, we never learn the exact date that Judgment Day happens, so as long as it happens after 2007 -- the date that "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" takes place -- it allows for that film and "Alien vs. Predator," which takes place in 2004, to exist.
TIME TRAVEL
There is no time travel in this story, but Skynet essentially travels forward in time via good old-fashioned patience. Dr. Trollenberg spends 300 years working toward a weapon and strategy to return Skynet to supremacy. Luckily, John also does a bit of "time-traveling" as the information packet he secretly implanted in Skynet (and therefore all Terminators) is read by Call. While he can't know Skynet's precise strategy, he effectively spells out the seriousness of the threat.
By emphasizing the patient aspect of machines and computer minds, "AvPvT" provides insight into how Skynet acquires knowledge. The only way a being can acquire knowledge of a previous timeline is from a time traveler, and the only way he can acquire knowledge from two timelines ago is from a time traveler who knew a time traveler ... and so forth.
The idea of humans winning a war with such an intelligence strategy is exhausting to our human minds. But Skynet has no such hang-ups. Its natural patience explains how it knows to send back Terminators to certain points in the past with specific objectives. A successful mission will change the NEXT timeline, not the current one, but – because of its infinite patience -- Skynet isn't bothered by that.
TerminatorComic booksAliens/PredatorWed, 25 Feb 2015 00:01:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/25/Terminator-flashback-Aliens-versus-Predator-versus-Terminator-2000‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Superman versus The Terminator: Death to the Future’ (2000)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/24/Terminator-flashback-Superman-versus-The-Terminator-Death-to-the-Future-2000
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//superman-vs-terminator.jpg">
Writer Alan Grant started his 13-issue run on "The Terminator" with the gritty, adult-oriented "Death Valley," then followed it up with the shallow "The Dark Years," and he closes on an even weaker note with the kiddie-oriented <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Superman_vs._The_Terminator:_Death_to_the_Future" target="_blank">"Superman versus The Terminator: Death to the Future"</a> (2000). I wasn't a "Superman" fan to begin with, but this four-issue series does nothing to pique my interest in that saga, and it also treats the "Terminator" concept shallowly.
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"Death Valley" introduced a teenage John and 30-something Sarah at the turn of the century on a timeline without "T2" and without a Judgment Day so far. It set up fresh possibilities. But Grant ended up doing nothing with those possibilities, as Sarah and John (with the exception of Future John) remain in victim mode throughout Grant's saga. And I can't imagine "Superman" fans find the portrayals of Supes and his colleagues anything other than rote in this series.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: He killed his first Terminator (on this timeline) in "The Dark Years" a year earlier, but now he's back in victim mode.
Sarah Connor: Also in victim mode, she spends most of "SvT" worrying about John's safety.
Kyle Reese: Dead for 16 years, and 10 years from being born. Not present in the 2032-set scenes.
"Superman" characters: Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor fight the Terminators in Metropolis in 2000, while Steel (and later in the narrative, Superman) does so in 2032.
TERMINATORS
T-800s and endoskeletons: Skynet sends a bevy of these to Metropolis in 2000, first to kill Sarah and John and then to distract Supergirl and Superboy.
Terminator with eye beams: The first Terminator that pursues the Connors in Metropolis shoots eye-beams like Cyclops from "The X-Men."
Terminatrix: Three years before "T3" came out and formally introduced the Terminatrix to the big screen, "SvT" introduces a character by this name who specifically stalks John. She doesn't have any of the T-X's attributes, though, and seems to be a T-800.
Sky-1: In the 2032 scenes, Skynet embodies all of its power into one robot so that it may more easily taunt Superman and Steel. But it also makes it easier for Superman and Steel to defeat it.
Cyborg: Not technically a Terminator, but he's a human with tons of machine parts who blames Superman for turning him into a freak. In a way, he's the Terminator of the "Superman"-verse.
CONTINUITY
The "present-day" scenes pick up from "The Dark Years" and are set in 2000 in Metropolis. The Future War scenes are set in 2032 in Metropolis, likewise picking up from "The Dark Years."
In the Future War, Steel and Superman encounter "skells," the resistance's term for cannibals (perhaps based on "skeleton?"). In the Now Comics, the resistance encountered "scavs" (presumably short for "scavengers"). In both cases, these are groups of humans who do not work for the resistance – a concept that has arguably been underexplored up to this point.
Sky-1 introduces a new term that has a nice simplicity similar to "Judgment Day": "Omega Point." This is the point at which all humans are dead. The resistance aims for its own Omega Point: the point at which Skynet is dead.
When Steel "reels back" Superman from 2000 to 2032 in his failed attempt to snatch a Terminator, it marks the second example of forward time travel in the "Terminator" saga, the first being RoboCop's fast-forward through time via Skynet in "RoboCop versus The Terminator." The most famous examples of forward time travel in the franchise will occur in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
Incidentally, when Superman gets displaced from 2000 to 2032, he is not harmed by the fact that he is clothed and not covered in conductive gel. While the saga has been inconsistent about the gel, it had been consistent about the time-travelers needing to be naked. Superman, however, suffers no harm; his clothes simply disappear. Then again, because he is the Man of Steel, we probably shouldn't extrapolate rules to include normal humans. Additionally, he is not technically the time traveler; he's being displaced in the other direction.
TIME TRAVEL
Skynet and even the good guys heavily manipulate the timeline(s) in "SvT," making this a story where the future most definitely is not set. As such, pretty much everything falls under that category in our evidence tally.
Throughout these timeline manipulations, "SvT" provides a lot of credence for the multiple-timelines theory, although most of the dialog and narration still refers to the one-true-timeline model that "Terminator" yarns generally adhere to. On the other hand, in previous stories Dark Horse has embraced the multiple-timelines theory outright, from the birth of Jane Connor in "Endgame" to the erasure of the "T2" events in Grant's stories. So one could make a case that "SvT" adds more fuel to that fire, regardless of how the characters speak about time.
Evidence for "fate":
• As always, John is the resistance leader in the future, even though this story does not show him developing any leadership skills as a teen.
• It seems Skynet will eventually be born, even if it takes Lex Luthor to do so. He has been studying Skynet tech for some time – it's why his company is able to quickly develop a virus to stop the Terminators' 2000 incursion. At the story's end, he aims to build – and more importantly, control – Skynet.
Evidence that "the future" – and the past and present, for that matter – "is not set":
• Although Sarah believes Skynet will be created and gain sentience "not very far in our future," it still hasn't happened by 2000, three years after the 1997 date we were familiar with before "T3" came out. (Because this is the "Terminator"-only timeline and not the "T2" timeline, Sarah does not know about the 1997 date.) In a similar changing of dates, the resistance defeats Skynet in 2032 in this yarn, whereas 2029 is the traditional year of Skynet's defeat. (As I noted in my "Dark Years" write-up, it's unclear if John sends Kyle back from 2029 to 1984 in this timeline. He probably does. But if he doesn't, it's strong evidence that the future is not set if John isn't required by the time gods to send Kyle back.)
• Cyborg "arms the future with information to defeat Superman" by storing the information in an endoskeleton skull it hopes Skynet will discover in the future. Since Cyborg hasn't already seen Skynet use that information in the 2000 Metropolis battle, which would be a fateful event, he believes the timeline (not only the future, but also the past and present) is not set. And it seems he's correct.
• The resistance, including John and Superman's pal Steel, commandeers a TDE platform and "trie(s) to reel the robot back." But instead of grabbing the Terminator, it transplants Superman from 2000 to 2032.
• As always, Future John isn't totally confident about how time travel works. For example, he thinks "Just one thing troubles me: I only remember Superman saving me once." John knows time can be in a state of flux, but he isn't sure what that entails. Still, he seems to lean toward the idea of multiple timelines. In the wake of the resistance's victory over Skynet, he tells Superman: "The future belongs to mankind, but the horror can still happen again. And you can bet Skynet won't make the same mistakes the next time around." Then he sends Superman back to 2000 to fight the Terminators in Metropolis. It seems John is saying: "The future (of me and my friends on this timeline) belongs to mankind, but the horror can still happen again (on another timeline, which also includes a version of me and versions of other people I care about)."
• Supergirl notes that the Terminators have "new features with each wave that arrives," strongly suggesting that Skynet is learning new ways to win this fight on each pass through the timeline.
• Superman seems to lean toward the one-timeline-that-can-be-changed model, but hedges his bets by using the plural: "If they succeed, it'll change the timelines again!" Illustrating Supes' confusion, that sentence makes no logical sense. While a timeline can be changed if there is only one true timeline, a plurality of timelines simply means new timelines are created, not that old ones are changed.
Superman/SupergirlTerminatorComic booksTue, 24 Feb 2015 22:28:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/24/Terminator-flashback-Superman-versus-The-Terminator-Death-to-the-Future-2000‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘The Dark Years’ (1999)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/23/Terminator-flashback-The-Dark-Years-1999
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-dark-years.jpg">
<a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terminator:_The_Dark_Years" target="_blank">"The Dark Years"</a> (1999) is the most inaccurately titled series of the "Terminator" saga so far. The title calls to mind times of hopelessness and misery, but the art by Mel Rubi (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks) and David Stewart (colors) is vibrant and energetic and the story by Alan Grant is about as lighthearted as this material gets.
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Despite the fact that the four-issue "Dark Years" features John and Sarah more prominently than "Death Valley" – where they were essentially maguffins – I loved the grit and dark humor of that story and found this follow-up to be shallow. It's hard to believe they come from the same writer. At least the quick back-and-forth between present day and Future War scenes makes it a brisk, painless read.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: John, 15, has his first encounter with a Terminator in this timeline, having been split up from his mom, who is hospitalized in the initial encounter. Meanwhile, John, 46, leads the resistance in 2030 and has a beard and none of the facial scars from the "T2" timeline.
Sarah Connor: She thinks the crowds of New York City on New Year's Eve will be a safe enough place for her and John. She's wrong. As with "Death Valley," she doesn't have the hard edge of the "T2" timeline's Sarah. In the Future War of "The Dark Years," Sarah is presumably deceased.
Kyle Reese: Dead during the 1999 scenes and unmentioned in the 2030 scenes.
Jon Norden: The kid from "Death Valley" has harbored a hatred of John Connor for 32 years because a Terminator that was hunting John killed Norden's dad. So he punches John upon meeting him.
Selena: This resistance member is actually a brainwashed Skynet plant. Her identity is obvious from her first appearance being dropped off by a Skynet aircraft, but for some reason Grant plays the traitor's identity as a mystery.
TERMINATORS
Big Apple T-800: It emerges in New York City on New Year's Eve 1999, pretty much right on top of John and Sarah. It believes it has killed Sarah (John tricks it by changing the hospital records), then it pursues John, who kills it.
Rat spy robot: Not exactly a Terminator, but more of a spy device.
Brainwashed humans: Again, not exactly Terminators, but effective weapons nonetheless. I guess they're like Marcus Wright and Dudley, but no cyborg half is necessary because the brainwashing works well enough.
CONTINUITY
In the present-day scenes, "The Dark Years" picks up after "Death Valley," on New Year's Eve 1999, with the calendar about to turn to Y2K (wrongly labeled "the new millennium," as the writer makes the common mistake of thinking 2000 is the first year of the third millennium rather than the last year of the second).
In the Future War scenes, the action picks up in 2030, with the war still going on. This marks at least the second timeline where we've seen the war continue past the resistance's traditional year of victory in 2029. The other was the Now Comics timeline. The Malibu Comics timeline also hinted at a continuing war at the end of its narrative.
The letters column in Issue 4 explicitly states what I surmised from "Death Valley": This second string of Dark Horse stories takes place on a distinct timeline from all previous stories except the first movie. Editor Mike Hansen says of the previously published stories: "History – and the future – has rewritten itself so that these stories do not currently 'exist.' ... they all DID happen ... so if you want to see what the future once was, go and check these stories out." That explanation contrasts slightly with my theory that "Death Valley"/"Dark Years" is on the FIRST new timeline created by the time travelers of the first movie.
The T-800 believes it has accomplished its "secondary objective" of killing Sarah. This is the same "secondary objective" the Terminators had in the series by that title. But in "Secondary Objectives," the primary mission was protecting the birth of Skynet. Here, the primary mission is killing John.
The birth of Skynet was only briefly hinted at in "Death Valley" with the early versions of HK-Tanks (which were then destroyed), and the birth-of-Skynet thread is completely untouched here. I don't blame Grant, as that ground has already been well trod. Still, it does make a reader wonder if J-Day is going to occur anytime soon on this timeline.
The resistance's hidey-holes are back to the rough-and-tumble look after the military spit-shine of "Nuclear Twilight."
TIME TRAVEL
We learn about a TDE in New York City. A T-800 pops up on New Year's Eve 1999 pretty much right on top of John and Sarah. We're not told in this story how Skynet knows they will be there.
Evidence for "fate":
• As pre-ordained, John is the resistance leader.
Evidence that "the future is not set":
• It's now 2000 in the present-day narrative, and there is still no Judgment Day – or any hints of Skynet's formative phase -- on this timeline.
• It's 2030 in the Future War, and it's suggested that John did not send Kyle back in a TDE bubble in 2029. John narrates: "Sarah impressed upon him that only he could save mankind. She didn't say how." That would be an odd statement if John did indeed do his fated duty of sending back Kyle in 2029. So how is John still here if he was never born? A couple of possibilities: 1) I'm reading too much into the statement, and he did indeed send Kyle back. What he means by the statement is that he doesn't know the specifics of how to win the war. Or 2) He hasn't sent Kyle back yet, but he doesn't have to do so in the exact same way as the previous history. Maybe TDEs are developed later in this timeline, just as J-Day happens later.
TerminatorComic booksMon, 23 Feb 2015 16:32:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/23/Terminator-flashback-The-Dark-Years-1999‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Death Valley’ (1998)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/22/Terminator-flashback-Death-Valley-1998
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-death-valley.jpg">
Dark Horse's first entry in its second stint with the "Terminator" license, <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terminator:_Death_Valley" target="_blank">"Death Valley"</a> (1998) is an entertaining piece of tech-noir heavily caked with the desert dust of a Western.
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In this five-issue series (Issue 0, a.k.a. "Special," followed by Issues 1-4), writer Alan Grant – who would write 13 consecutive "Terminator" issues, tying him with Ron Fortier for the most issues – has a knack for the beats of a "Terminator" yarn. The grizzled VanDirk narrates the events as his hunt for a serial killer turns into a cat-and-mouse game with killer robots.
While Guy Davis' art on Issue 0 is weak – the naked Terminators look like peach-colored blobs – Steve Pugh follows with entertaining images of increasingly banged-up Terminators in Issues 1-4. Pugh draws the cyborgs' grim, determined faces particularly well.
The most surprising aspect of "Death Valley" is that – although it's set in 1998 – it follows directly from the first movie. On this timeline, "T2" and the Malibu Comics did not happen. The events of Dark Horse's 1984 saga likewise probably did not happen; certainly, Sarah giving birth to Jane ("Endgame") is not part of this timeline. The portrayal of Sarah and John as naïve victims – rather than warriors -- gives "Death Valley" the feel of an "Infinities" or "What if?" story.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: The 14-year-old John, having not experienced the events of "T2," is a good-hearted kid who has been raised well by Sarah, although he's also naïve and innocent. In this story, Sarah finally tells John about Kyle and his destiny.
Sarah Connor: She's working as a maid at a roadside motel near Death Valley. Rather than the hardened character of "T2," this 33-year-old hasn't changed much from the final scenes of the first movie. She decided to run and hide from Skynet rather than fight it. She calls herself "Sarah Stanton," a name she assumed "years earlier."
Kyle Reese: Dead for 14 years, and 12 years from being born.
Killerman: A serial murderer and leader of a devil-worshipping cult, he tells the T-800s he knows the location of Sarah and John Connor. Actually, he knows of Sara and Jon Norden. As the Terminators track Killerman, he opts to use the Norden family as bargaining chips.
The Norden family: A hapless desert-dwelling family who get mistakenly targeted by Terminators due to the mom being named Sara and the kid being named Jon.
Dr. Newbert: An entrepreneurial weapons designer, it seems he'll be the new father of Skynet. But it turns out his killer robot – which looks like a prototypical HK-Tank -- is in this yarn just to put a couple chinks in the Terminators' armor.
VanDirk: The story's narrator, this war veteran turned bounty hunter is tracking Killerman at the time the Terminators intervene.
TERMINATORS
D-800.L: A female T-800.
D-810.X: A male T-800 who suffers a malfunction during time displacement. It causes him to develop a sense of wonder and morality. Much to his partner's bafflement, he looks for ways to avoid killing, if possible.
CONTINUITY
"Death Valley" picks up in 1998, 14 years after the events of the first movie. Sarah and John have lived in Death Valley for five years, and did not experience any of the turmoil of "T2" or "Cybernetic Dawn." It seems the events of Dark Horse's 1984 saga are not part of this timeline, either. Clearly, the fact of Sarah giving birth to Jane ("Endgame") is not part of this timeline.
A Terminator in the Future War plays dead (or "employs decoy tactics"), similar to the T-800's last-ditch strategy against the T-1000 in the steel factory, as described in the "T2" novelization.
Skynet tortures a resistance soldier named Stamford for information on John Connor. A similar scene occurred in "Nuclear Twilight."
TIME TRAVEL
The two T-800s emerge in the California desert rather than Los Angeles, which suggests they experienced time-spatial slippage. The cyborgs also seem to question the time they've emerged in, citing a "possible error in time displacement." Regardless of Skynet's targeted year and location, it works out fine because Sarah and John actually are living in the desert during this time.
Going by the theory that each instance of time travel instantly changes the timeline, this might be the timeline that happened before it was overwritten by the new time travelers of "T2." By the logic of one true timeline, that means "Death Valley" is part of a defunct reality. But by the logic of alternate timelines, this reality is as valid as any other.
Evidence for "fate":
• As Sarah always feared in the 14 years since the events of the first movie, additional Terminators try to track her down. That sparks her to finally tell the 14-year-old John about his destiny.
• Dr. Newbert's warrior robot – which looks like an early version of an HK-Tank -- seems like it's a path to Skynet, J-Day and the Future War.
Evidence that "the future is not set":
• "Death Valley" is set in a timeline where the events of "T2" did not happen, nor did the ending of Dark Horse's 1984 saga where Sarah gives birth to Jane. Most likely, the entire 1984 saga is not part of the "Death Valley" timeline.
• It's 1998, but Judgment Day (which happened in 1997 in the history of "T2's" T-800, and in the history of the "Nuclear Twilight" saga) has not happened. Perhaps J-Day also did not happen in 1997 in the history of "Death Valley's" T-800s either, since Skynet sent them to 1998, which it knew to be a time before the war. It's also possible that 1998 was an accidental destination, as the Terminators speak of a "possible error in time displacement."
• As much as it seems like Dr. Newbert will be the new father of Skynet, that doesn't turn out to be the case, at least for now.
TerminatorComic booksSun, 22 Feb 2015 00:26:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/22/Terminator-flashback-Death-Valley-1998‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Nuclear Twilight’ (1995-96)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/21/Terminator-flashback-Nuclear-Twilight-199596
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-nuclear-twilight.jpg">
"All My Future's Past" (1990) chronicled the time travel that led to the events of "The Terminator," but then the sequel and a bunch of new comics made that story apocryphal (unless, perhaps, you factor in rewritten or alternate timelines). The "updated" version of the time travel leading up to both movies and "Cybernetic Dawn" is Malibu's <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator_2:_Judgment_Day_-_Nuclear_Twilight" target="_blank">"Nuclear Twilight"</a> (1995-96).
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It's also a richer yarn than the two-issue "AMFP," in part because it gets five issues (numbered 1-4, then with Issue 0 – which is combined with "Cybernetic Dawn" Issue 0 -- concluding the tale). Writer Mark Paniccia weaves one of the smartest "Terminator" yarns to date as it ties in with "Cybernetic Dawn" and the movies. But it has room for surprises: I like the parallel narrative of Skynet capturing resistance soldier Griff and having a T-1000 take his place even as the resistance captures an endoskeleton and programs it with a virus.
The art by Gary Erskine is slick and professional. Although his art isn't quite as cinematic as "Cybernetic Dawn," he nails the likeness of Future John as portrayed by Michael Edwards in "T2." The Reese likeness could've been better, but I was never confused as to what's going on, in part because all the soldiers conveniently have their names on their shirts and helmets.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: The leader of the human resistance in the U.S. He balances being protective of Kyle with not letting Kyle know he's being protective of him. John is secretive, confiding only in his best friend, Danny Dyson. Luckily, he's respected enough that no one – except Kyle -- chafes at his secrecy.
Sarah Connor: She's in the war scenes in the early Aughts, then disappears from the narrative.
Kyle Reese: As per classic "Terminator" lore, John knows Kyle is his dad and that Kyle will volunteer for the time-travel mission. Kyle is an excellent soldier who is peeved that John pulls him off a mission for (apparently) no good reason.
Danny Dyson: The son of Miles Dyson, and John's best friend. He's John's main confidante and the only person completely in the loop on John's plan to send Kyle back in time. Danny also devises a virus to infiltrate Skynet's headquarters at Cheyenne Mountain, Colo. (Danny's mom and sister are around in the early Aughts, but presumably they don't survive until 2029.)
Colonel Mossberg: The former LAPD detective is now a trusted resistance leader who works closely with John.
Jonathan Ellis Reese: John meets this man early in the war and suspects he might go on to be the father of Kyle (and thus John's grandfather).
TERMINATORS
T-800, model 101s: The familiar endoskeletons are given this designation here. I had been under the impression that T-800s were the infiltrator model with living tissue on the outside and that 101 was Arnold's model number. In "Nuclear Twilight," these Terminators can operate in "hive mode" (controlled by Skynet) or "rogue mode" (powered by an internal battery). Issue 2 brings up a little-discussed (yet logical) point that T-800s were "originally created to save human lives" before Skynet gained sentience.
T-1000s: One unit of note takes the form of a resistance soldier named Griff and restarts Skynet on the final page after the resistance has shut it down.
CONTINUITY
"Nuclear Twilight" is the sequel to "Cybernetic Dawn." It opens with a few scenes in the early days of the Future War (after the foretold Judgment Day of 1997), in the early Aughts. "We celebrated the new millennium by counting a few less clicks on the jimmy-rigged surface Geiger counters," John narrates. After this flashback segment, the bulk of "Nuclear Twilight" occurs in 2029.
The resistance's hidey-holes have traditionally been war-ravaged underground tunnels. The one in "Nuclear Twilight" is by far the nicest – it looks like a sterile military barracks, complete with clean hallways and assigned rooms.
"Nuclear Twilight" picks up on Danny's childhood idea of infecting Skynet with a virus. He's been perfecting the virus through the decades, using the endoskeleton head from the final issue of "Cybernetic Dawn." The resistance installs this head, nicknamed "Rusty," onto an endoskeleton they've captured.
"Nuclear Twilight" gives us more concise term for "time traveling via a time-displacement equipment platform": chronoportation. I like it.
This comic finally chronicles the resistance's 2029 attack on Skynet's HQ. It was referenced in "AMFP," as John had to sync his mission with what was going on in Colorado, but here we actually see the Cheyenne Mountain mission. We also saw an attack on Skynet's HQ in "The Burning Earth," but that was in 2041 in Nevada, and probably on a different version of the timeline.
The conclusive Issue 0 gives us the first thorough portrayal (although it was touched upon in the "T2" novelization) of the reprogramming and sending back of the T-800. The good T-800 – with its newly installed chip (the one John picked up back in 1995 in "Cybernetic Dawn") -- fights off several evil ones, thus proving that the reprogramming works.
While I can understand that John was stressed out by the events of the day, there is actually a moment of calm before he sends the T-800 back. John perhaps should've used this time to brief the unit with tons of information that would be useful to the Past John so he's not doing so much guesswork on the next pass through the timeline.
At the story's end, the T-1000 in the guise of Griff restarts Skynet at Cheyenne Mountain even as the resistance soldiers celebrate outside the stronghold. This could explain the events of the Dark Horse 1984 saga, where Skynet continued to exist and where several chronoportations happened three months after the chronoportations we know from the movies. Or perhaps Skynet's new life leads to the events of the Now Comics, where the war continued until 2041.
TIME TRAVEL
All the time travelers from the two movies and "Cybernetic Dawn" initiate their time travel in this series. (The time travel from Dark Horse is ignored, but not necessarily impossible in this narrative.)
"Nuclear Twilight" only focuses on one TDE facility, but that doesn't necessarily preclude the existence of other facilities. Indeed, the three Terminators in "Cybernetic Dawn" materialized in the middle of a highway – suggesting they came from different location from the main TDE facility.
Evidence for "fate":
• Judgment Day happens on Aug. 29, 1997, the exact same date as in the history known by the reprogrammed T-800 in "T2."
• The resistance techs detect several "power dips" from the Skynet grid. John correctly surmises Skynet has invented time travel and is firing up its TDEs. In "Cybernetic Dawn," we learned that Skynet sent at least 27 (and probably many more, as those 27 units were just the ones that failed to report in) endoskeletons back in time as tests. The power dips probably correlate with that.
• Everything leading up to Kyle's (Issue 4) and the good T-800's (Issue 0) chronoportation goes as John expects it to, notably Kyle volunteering for the mission. He didn't know beforehand that Danny was going to prove crucial to killing Skynet and reprogramming the T-800, but nonetheless, everything snaps into place nicely.
• The "Griff" T-1000 restarting Skynet makes the Dark Horse stories possible. Even though the writers almost certainly didn't intend to incorporate DH's work, perhaps fate made them tie it all together anyway.
Evidence that "the future is not set":
• "Nuclear Twilight" tells the classic TDE story from "All My Future's Past" and the "T2" book, but with different sequences of events and different supporting characters. Perhaps these three stories are on different versions of the timeline.
• What we've previously called the TDE facility or TDE fortress is known here as "the California annex" or "the time-jump facility." A minor issue, but it could be that different terminology catches on in different versions of the timeline.
• The TDE building looks like a smaller version of the Massassi Temple in "Star Wars." In the Dark Horse comics, it looks like a nuclear power plant, and in "AMFP" it looks like a gigantic chess pawn. And whereas "AMFP" clearly delineated the existence of two platforms within the main facility, "Nuclear Twilight" is less clear on the issue (although by the geographic logic of the movies, there have to be at least two distinct platforms). Different versions of the timeline might explain the alterations in architecture.
• In Issue 2, we're told Cyberdyne's stronghold is in Wyoming, but later issues reveal this to be an apparent editing mistake, as the stronghold is in Cheyenne Mountain, Colo. Even so, in other yarns the stronghold has been located in Montana (the regular Now Comics series) and Nevada ("The Burning Earth"). Maybe Skynet has a different stronghold in different versions of the timeline.
• John's best buddy is Danny Dyson. The Now Comics told us his best friend, going all the way back to his childhood, is Miguel De Verona. Yet again, different versions of the timeline – which come about from time travel that makes a new future possible -- might be the explanation.
TerminatorComic booksSat, 21 Feb 2015 00:18:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/21/Terminator-flashback-Nuclear-Twilight-199596‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Cybernetic Dawn’ (1995-96)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/20/Terminator-flashback-Cybernetic-Dawn-199596
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-cybernetic-dawn.jpg">
For some reason, the first further adventures based on "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" didn't come out until four years after the film. In a nice bit of synergy, though, that meant Malibu Comics' <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator_2:_Judgment_Day_-_Cybernetic_Dawn" target="_blank">"Cybernetic Dawn"</a> (1995-96) was released in the same year the film is set.
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The five-issue "Cybernetic Dawn" (numbered 1-4, then concluding with Issue 0) features a standard plot of three Terminators popping up the day after "T2" to ensure the creation of Skynet. But writer Dan Abnett's characterizations and dialog are spot-on. I can practically hear Linda Hamilton's voice giving the narration. Abnett also gets Dyson's wife and two children back into the story, setting the stage for Danny's involvement in the sequel, "Nuclear Twilight."
Meanwhile, artists Rod Whigham and Jack Snider nail the likenesses of the actors, further giving "Cybernetic Dawn" a cinematic feel. The series feels more commercial than Dark Horse's work, but by that same token, it feels more like a bedrock element of the saga.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: He's in the same emotional place as in "T2" – 10 years old and on the run from Terminators with his mom.
Sarah Connor: She's caught between 1) running away and protecting her son (Sarah's survivalist instinct) and 2) meeting with the Dysons to explain what happened (a notion she picks up from her son).
Kyle Reese: Dead for 11 years, and 15 years away from being born.
Detective Mossberg: First introduced in "T2," he gets thrown into the mix with Sarah and company, and she tasks him with taking John and the Dysons to Sarah's mountain hideout in Mexico while she pays a visit to NetWork Developments.
The Dyson family: Miles' wife, Tarissa, and two kids, Danny and Blythe, are scared and miserable. Danny brings up an interesting idea to John: Perhaps Skynet could be killed with a computer virus.
Dr. Silberman: He's in a straightjacket, picking up from the "T2" novelization, where he went cuckoo after experiencing the events in the mental hospital.
Detective Weatherby: Mossberg's partner from "T2" likewise now believes Sarah's horror stories about the future. But he bites the dust at the hands of a Terminator.
TERMINATORS
Two T-800s and a T-1000: Their time bubble appears in the middle of the road a day after the climactic events of "T2." Their goals, as always, are to make sure Skynet gets built. The T-1000 takes the guise of a woman working for NetWork Developments, essentially the new Cyberdyne. Skynet will deploy this strategy again in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" through a T-1001 in the guise of Catherine Weaver (Shirley Manson).
Inoperative endoskeletons at the NetWork Developments facility: NW possesses 27 endoskeletons from the future. The first one was found in Argentina in the 1970s. NW also believes the Chinese have three and the French have one. (Then again, Sarah gets this information from a T-1000, so take it for what it's worth.)
CONTINUITY
"Cybernetic Dawn" picks up immediately after "T2," in 1995.
In a "T2" deleted scene and the movie's novelization, Sarah tells the Salceda family to go into hiding. But apparently they are slow packers. In a flashback, we see that the T-1000 found them, resulting in Enrique's death.
NetWork Developments (the new Cyberdyne, but even more bluntly corporatist, with federal agents ensconced in the company) discovers the T-800 arm in the steel factory in Issue 1. This seems consistent with the "T2" movie, but it contradicts the novelization, where Sarah throws the arm into the molten pit.
NetWork Developments is the third incarnation so far of scientists engaging in reverse engineering of Terminator tech, following Dr. Hollister and his cronies in Dark Horse's 1984 saga and Miles Dyson in "T2."
Sarah sends Mossberg, John and the Dysons to Sarah's "place in the mountains," where she was living during the time of "Secondary Objectives" in 1984.
John removes the microchip from one of the T-800s they kill. And our heroes acquire the head of the other T-800 endoskeleton. Keep these elements in mind for the sequel, "Nuclear Twilight."
TIME TRAVEL
In Issue 1, a time bubble containing two T-800s and a T-1000 appears in the middle of an L.A. highway a day after the climactic events of "T2." It's unexplained, at least in this story, what future year and what TDE facility they came from.
As a way to test its TDEs, Skynet sent many endoskeletons back to various points in time (Issue 4). Twenty-seven inoperative endoskeletons end up at NetWork Developments, three with the Chinese and one with the French. Perhaps the successful endoskeletons went into hiding as time passed and then met up with Skynet at a pre-planned date in the future, thus confirming that the TDEs work – at least sometimes.
"Cybernetic Dawn" finds Sarah and John doing a lot of mulling about fate and free will, in dialog or narration. But since they are limited by their own experiences, and because Kyle didn't understand "that tech stuff" either, they can't know the rules of timelines for sure. Still, "Cybernetic Dawn" is heavily fate-oriented, with the characters essentially preparing for a future of war against the machines.
Evidence for "fate":
• In Issue 1, John thinks his continued existence (as opposed to winking out of reality) is proof that Skynet will win. This is because Skynet is the catalyst for Kyle going back in time and fathering John.
• In Issue 3, after Sarah and John dispatch one of the T-800s, Sarah believes its existence "is proof that the Skynet future is still a fact."
• By the end of the conclusive Issue 0, Sarah believes Skynet is a certainty, not so much because she's figured out time-travel rules, but because she sees how hard it is to kill Skynet in its embryonic stages: "No matter how many times we delay its creation, there will always be someone eager to step in and finish what's been started, just to see if they can. We are our own worst enemy. The nuclear twilight will come."
Evidence that "the future is not set":
• In Issue 1, Sarah mulls the idea of, if not a rewritable timeline, then at least alternate timelines: "I guess if the future isn't set, then there must be one version where Skynet will exist. And one where we have won."
TerminatorComic booksFri, 20 Feb 2015 00:35:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/20/Terminator-flashback-Cybernetic-Dawn-199596‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘RoboCop versus The Terminator’ (1992)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/19/Terminator-flashback-RoboCop-versus-The-Terminator-1992
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//robocop-vs.jpg">
Dark Horse closes out the first of its three stints with the "Terminator" license with the saga's first crossover: <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/RoboCop_vs._The_Terminator" target="_blank">"RoboCop versus The Terminator"</a> (1992). Later, "The Terminator" would cross over with "Aliens/Predator," "Superman" and "Painkiller Jane," plus another meeting with "RoboCop."
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Comic-book legends Frank Miller (writer) and Walter Simonson (artist) deliver a strong story that draws on the central aspects of "RoboCop" and "Terminator" lore: In the former case, a depressed part-man, part-machine with a good heart; in the latter case, machines who jerk around the fabric of time in order to kill off mankind.
Miller balances the two franchises nicely, even though he is the co-writer of "RoboCop 2" and "RoboCop 3," and even though Dark Horse had a bigger stake in "RoboCop": It was about to lose the "Terminator" license, and it was gearing up for its adaptation of "RoboCop 3" the next year.
But "RvT's" portrayal of how timelines change is inconsistent with established "Terminator" lore. Miller's time-shifting ideas are clever, but they also make it hard to consider "RvT" a legitimate part of the mythology. A fan could attempt to shoehorn this story's portrayal of timeline-shifting into the rules of "Terminator," but it's easier to call it a "What if?" yarn.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: Not in this story, although he is the one who gives Flo the mission to go back in time and kill RoboCop, as he's the key to Skynet gaining sentience.
Sarah Connor: Not in this story.
Kyle Reese: Dead during this time, as per the events of the first movie.
Flo: Unnamed until the end of the story, she's a resistance fighter who goes through time to kill RoboCop.
Alex Murphy (RoboCop): This part-man, part-machine works for the Detroit PD. In this story, he's haunted by the knowledge that "his mind would provide the spark that would make (Skynet and) the Terminators conscious."
TERMINATORS
RoboCop-Terminator hybrids: RoboCop wisely realizes if he can program Skynet, he can program an army of Terminators to fight on the side of humanity.
Man, woman and child T-800s: They come back to fight Flo, materializing at a Detroit Pistons game. Not counting the Baby Terminator in Now Comics Issue 1, this is first Kid Terminator we've seen.
Child and dog Terminators: This duo goes back in time to try to convince RoboCop that he is right to wipe out humans. This is the first Dog Terminator we've seen since the Now Comics.
Endoskeletons: These shock troops fill the Future War battles.
CONTINUITY
Like many "Terminator" stories, "RvT" features present-day scenes and Future War scenes from whence the time travelers come. It doesn't give specific years, but we can assume the present is somewhere around 1992. Most of the action takes place on RoboCop's turf in Detroit, which coincidentally synchs nicely with the Now Comics, which portrayed a slave labor camp in the Motor City during the Future War. "RvT" marks the first portrayal of a TDE facility in Detroit.
In "RvT's" Future War, humanity is being wiped out by Skynet. Most other portrayals of the Future War up to this point have shown the resistance winning, and those portrayals are always in 2029. So perhaps "RvT's" future scenes are before 2029 or after 2031 -- after Skynet's big momentum swing as told in the Now Comics.
After it kills the last human, Skynet's forces travel into space intending to conquer other worlds. The Now Comics had delved into the mystery of Skynet's ultimate aims and told us Skynet kept some humans alive in order to have a war for its own amusement. Then when the humans become a serious threat in 2041, it makes a push to wipe them out ("The Burning Earth"). But until now, we didn't know what Skynet intended to do after killing all humans.
Flo, like all resistance fighters, subscribes to the maxim that "no human will kill another, not ever." As such, she's shocked by violence-ridden Detroit. Most stories do indeed show humans banding together against the machines, although the resistance did run into some dangerous feral humans in Now Comics' regular series.
TIME TRAVEL
"RvT" portrays the creation of new timelines as something that individual beings can experience. At the moment when Skynet or the resistance does something to change the timeline, humans and Terminators see their reality change before their eyes as the "shockwaves through the timestream" wash over them, forming a new "time matrix."
The shockwave effect – shown artistically via ripples in the background -- was not seen in any previous incarnation of the saga, but if we're being generous, we could say it's not a contradiction but rather a style choice by the storytellers. That's what I said about the time shift portrayed in "Endgame." However, in "RvT," individual beings can not only see the change in their reality, but also REMEMBER the change in their reality, and this most definitely contradicts established lore.
Some examples from "RvT":
• Human prisoners who are being buried alive with rocks see the rocks change into leaves, and they celebrate their good fortune.
• Flo is being interrogated at the police station when the Terminator head and futuristic gun wink out of existence, and thus the cops realize she is telling the truth.
• Flo returns from the dead at the story's end when RoboCop resets the timeline for the better by sacrificing himself. To her, it's like waking from a dream.
The franchise's more common stance on time shifts is that mortals are not aware of them, either physically or mentally – even when we as readers can see the time shift happening. In "Endgame," Sloane's and Mary's reality changes, but they are not aware of it; when their bodies morph from an old timeline to a new one, their memories change accordingly after a very brief bout of amnesia.
In "RvT," Skynet's ability to see the "shockwaves through the timestream" informs its strategy of when and where to send back Terminators. The resistance fighters likewise devise strategies based on their knowledge of how reality is changing.
While good ol' fashioned TDE platforms are used by Flo and various Terminators (often in the familiar form of last-ditch efforts to change reality), "RvT" also gives us another method of time travel, which is also the saga's first example of forward time travel. By entering the Skynet central computer, the essence of RoboCop travels forward through time, then he physically reforms himself during the Future War.
TerminatorComic booksThu, 19 Feb 2015 00:39:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/19/Terminator-flashback-RoboCop-versus-The-Terminator-1992‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Endgame’ (1992)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/18/Terminator-flashback-Endgame-1992
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-endgame.jpg">
Dark Horse closes out its "1984 saga" with the deliciously hardboiled three-issue <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terminator:_End_Game" target="_blank">"Endgame"</a> (1992). Artists Jackson Guice (pencils), John Beatty (inks) and Gregory Wright (colors) are a perfect complement to the writing of James Robinson ("One Shot," "Secondary Objectives") with their loads of shadows, panels "shot" from above ceiling fans, and one page of a bunch of small panels showing chain-smoking Detective Sloane making the dozens of phone calls needed to solve a serial-killer case.
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About to give birth to John on Oct. 4, 1984, in Odessa, Texas, Sarah Connor is central to the story yet her only appearances are in a sequence of "giving birth" panels in Issue 3. It calls to mind those later-season "X-Files" episodes where Mulder was central to the story but we kept waiting for him to actually appear. Ultimately, I don't mind that Sarah isn't the main character of Dark Horse's 1984 arc, because Mary, Sloane and Dudley deepen the "Terminator" mythology.
Issue 3 shakes up everything we thought we knew about the rules of time travel and "Terminator" timelines – for better or worse. Even if you go with "worse," "Endgame" is a fun ride.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: On the verge of being born, or so we think.
Sarah Connor: We think she's about to give birth to John on Oct. 4, 1984, in Odessa, Texas, but she has a girl, Jane, instead. As with "Secondary Objectives," there's some cover confusion here: Issue 3 appears to show Sarah running with her baby in her arms, but it could be Mary. At any rate, the sequence doesn't occur in the story.
Kyle Reese: Dead during this time, as per the events of the movie.
Jane Connor: The child – and future resistance leader -- who Sarah actually gives birth to.
Mary Randall: She convinces Sloane to kill FBI Agent Lockhurst and destroy the T-800 schematics. But the missing Dudley is a loose end on her mission, so she tracks him down in San Diego, where he tells her about the T-800's upcoming attack on Sarah in Odessa.
Detective Sloane: A classic hardboiled detective, he kills Lockhurst for Mary but then says he wants nothing more to do with her. He then becomes embroiled in a string of serial killings. Like Sarah Connor in "T2," he talks to a psychiatrist (who thinks Sloane is nuts) about Terminators; the difference is that Sloane does so voluntarily.
FBI Agent Lockhurst: He's mulling what to do with the T-800 schematics when Sloane kills him.
TERMINATORS
Dudley: Although Ed Astin (who doesn't appear in this series, and presumably did indeed die in "The Enemy Within") stole the T-800 schematics from Dudley's brain, that didn't kill Dudley's Terminator half after all. He continues to fight his evil half in this series. But it does prove useful: He receives information about the Canadian T-800's mission to Odessa, and informs Mary.
The Canadian Terminator: Skynet sends one last T-800 to fight it out in 1984, with the specific mission of killing the pregnant Sarah Connor (or the infant John Connor, depending on the timing). It's the last thing Skynet does before it is destroyed in 2029, and it has to use a TDE facility in the Northwest Territories of Canada because the Los Angeles facilities had been destroyed in "The Enemy Within."
CONTINUITY
"Endgame" is the final chapter of Dark Horse's 1984 quadrilogy, which also comprises "Tempest," "Secondary Objectives" and "The Enemy Within."
On the final page, Sarah gives birth to Jane Connor rather than John Connor. This raises a couple of questions: First, does an instance of time travel lead to an alternate timeline? If the answer is yes, then one alternate timeline features Jane Connor as the resistance leader. Robinson seems to play it as an alternate timeline with the closing line: "And in THAT future, Jane Connor leads her troops to victory."
If we stick with the idea of one timeline that gets overwritten (which is how the majority of "Terminator" storytellers – and therefore the characters and machines – approach the concept of time), the question becomes: In what order do the timelines occur?
If we decide the Jane Connor saga is newer than the John Connor saga, that puts us in the awkward position of knowing that all the "Terminator" stories that came out since "Endgame" chronicle a defunct timeline. If we decide all of the John Connor comics, movies and TV episodes are on a newer timeline than the Jane Connor saga, that puts us in the awkward position of requiring an additional story that's the opposite of "Endgame": One where Sarah expects to give birth to a girl, but instead has a boy.
The Cyberdyne saga also leads to an "alternate timelines" vs. "one true timeline" debate. In "Endgame," Mary and Sloane kill Lockhurst and destroy the last of the future technology, closing the book on this thread. Yet 11 years later in "T2," Dyson has access to the arm and microchip that were destroyed in this comic-book saga.
There are four possible explanations: 1) "T2" and the Dark Horse 1984 saga exist on an alternate timelines, made possible by an instance of time travel, 2) "T2" does continue from Dark Horse's 1984 saga, but we haven't seen the story explaining that the arm and microchip were not destroyed after all, 3) The 1984 saga has overwritten the "T2" saga, which means all "Terminator" stories released since "Endgame" chronicle a defunct timeline, or 4) The "T2" timeline has overwritten the 1984 saga timeline due to an instance of time travel we don't know about (perhaps the same one where it turns out Sarah gives birth to a boy after all).
Out of these myriad possibilities, I'm most comfortable with the idea that an untold story led to the "T2" timeline (with John and Dyson) overwriting the 1984 saga timeline (with Jane and Hollister/Astin/Lockhurst). But it's just a matter of taste.
TIME TRAVEL
One last T-800 emerges as part of Dark Horse's 1984 saga. In the 2029 portion of the story, all of Skynet's Los Angeles TDE facilities had been destroyed, but it also had a facility in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Skynet is able to send one last T-800 through the Canadian TDE just before the resistance forces pull its plug.
This is reminiscent of how Skynet sends back the T-1000 just before Skynet's death, as chronicled in the novelization of "T2." That was at the prototype L.A. TDE facility (already destroyed by the time of "Endgame"), which creates a contradiction with Dark Horse's saga, where the war continues for at least three more months after the destruction of the prototype facility.
The explanation might be this: Both are last-ditch strategies. Skynet sent back the T-1000 when it THOUGHT it was going to die. Skynet later sends back the Canadian T-800 in a true last-ditch effort. The T-800's mission is to kill John Connor as an infant on his birthday of Oct. 4, 1984, working from Skynet's brand-new knowledge of John's birthplace: Odessa, Texas.
As a side note, the reason for the three-month gap between when Skynet thinks it is going to be destroyed and when it actually is destroyed could be explained by "Hunters and Killers." Perhaps it's right after the T-1000 time-jumps that the U.S. resistance realizes it needs to destroy Mir before it pulls the plug on Skynet. So Mir is destroyed in "Hunters and Killers," then the U.S. resistance kills Skynet for good.
Evidence for "fate":
• Sarah gives birth to her child – the future resistance leader -- on Oct. 4, 1984 in Odessa, Texas, which is consistent with the previous history.
• While Sloane and Mary aren't in Odessa to stop the Canadian T-800 in the new timeline that comes about after the T-800 winks out of existence, they are still in Odessa rather than L.A. This might be because fate drew them there for other reasons – maybe just a feeling that they needed to protect Sarah.
Evidence that "the future is not set":
• Sarah's child is Jane Connor, not John Connor.
• Ironically, Skynet's Odessa knowledge is made possible by the success of Mary, Sloane and Dudley in wiping out all the future technology and its adherents (Hollister, Astin and Lockhurst) – this "delayed the machines' evolution." In this comic saga's timeline, the resistance "began fighting back earlier," the war never reached Texas and the records of John's birth in Odessa weren't destroyed. So Skynet now has this information and takes advantage of it via the Canadian T-800's last-ditch mission. "Endgame's" sequence of causal determination demonstrates that "the future is not set" in part because the PAST is not set.
• "Endgame" Issue 3 features the saga's first portrayal of time shifting before our (readers') very eyes. A 1984 variable changes (Mary erases the record of Sarah's hospital visit), causing a 2029 variable to change (Skynet does not send back the Canadian Terminator because it does not know John is born in Odessa), and thus causing a 1984 variable to change (the Canadian Terminator winks out of existence). He doesn't disappear at the very moment Mary erases the hospital record, but rather a few minutes later. Apparently even the gods of time need a bit of time to make the appropriate adjustments. Then we get what I'd call a stylized portrayal of time shifting: Sloane and Mary experience brief amnesia, unaware of their location or their reason for being there. My guess is their new memories will quickly flood into their brains. So why are they in Odessa, if not to stop the Canadian Terminator? The most likely answer is that they are protecting Sarah just in case.
TerminatorComic booksWed, 18 Feb 2015 00:13:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/18/Terminator-flashback-Endgame-1992‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Hunters and Killers’ (1992)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/17/Terminator-flashback-Hunters-and-Killers-1992
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-hunters-and-killers.jpg">
After three series set in 1984, Dark Horse takes a break from that saga and delivers its first in-depth portrayal of both the Future War and a part of the world other than Los Angeles in <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terminator:_Hunters_and_Killers" target="_blank">"Hunters and Killers"</a> (1992). In that sense, it's a throwback to the Now Comics.
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Luckily, the quality of Toren Smith's three-issue story is a notch above what Now did, although it's a step down from Dark Horse's previous work. I had trouble following the story, partly because it delves deeply into Russian and Soviet politics, so that might be my fault for not brushing up on real-world history. But also, these characters are shallower than those in Dark Horse's 1984 saga. While there's a hint of a tragic romance between Sergey and Larissa, it's not well-defined.
As with the story, the art by Bill Jaaska (pencils), Dan Panosia (inks) and Joe Rosas (colors) is better than most of Now's work but a notch below the previous Dark Horse work. It's a bit too busy and cluttered at times.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: Not in the story, but he sends a liaison over to Russia to coordinate their attack on Mir's headquarters with the U.S. forces' attack on Skynet's HQ.
Sarah Connor: Dead during this time.
Kyle Reese: Not in this story, but fighting with the U.S. resistance during this time.
Captain Sergey Pavlichenko: The Russian resistance's team leader on this mission.
Anatoly Golytsyn: The Russian resistance's missile tech.
Sergeant Larissa Bandera: This Russian resistance fighter suspects both Sergey and Golytsyn of being Stealth Terminators. Not knowing if people are who they seem to be calls to mind "The Thing" and the "X-Files" episode "Ice" (which came out a year after this comic series).
Captain Norman Effron: The liaison between the U.S. resistance and the Russian resistance.
TERMINATORS
Stealth Terminators: The Russian branch of Skynet, known as Mir, has developed Terminators that look, behave, weigh (their endoskeletons are ceramic) and smell (thus fooling dogs' ability to sniff them out) not only like actual humans, but like specific humans. A Sergey Pavlichenko model of Stealth Terminator is the main villain of "Hunters and Killers." The ability to copy a specific human is Skynet's greatest technological achievement up to this point on the timeline (although the shapeshifting T-1000 prototype is right around the corner), and of course these units can prove crucial to specific undercover missions.
Endoskeletons: These basic models are the grunts commanded by the Stealth Terminators.
CONTINUITY
"Hunters and Killers" adds another element to the 2029 saga of the takedown of Skynet. We know from the first movie that the war turned substantially the resistance's favor when Skynet's "defensive grid was smashed." This comic tells us that it was essential that the Russian resistance first destroys Mir, the Russian branch of Skynet. This is because Mir is being kept in check by the U.S. Skynet. If the U.S. Skynet is destroyed, then Mir will be free to launch nuclear missiles. So Mir must be destroyed first.
A Russian resistance, operating from a submarine and a base in Cuba, was chronicled by Now Comics. The Russian resistance in "Hunters and Killers" also uses a top-of-the-line submarine for launching missiles against Mir (and which Mir wants to apprehend to launch missiles against humanity). Beyond the superficial similarities, no link between the two Russian groups is established in this story.
Stealth Terminators, for all their upgrades, have the same physical capabilities as a T-800 when it comes down to a fight. And their basic programming is the same. As the stealth unit says in Issue 3, cribbing from the T-800 of the movies, "I have detailed files on human anatomy. I will cause you great pain until you tell me the code."
Despite the catchy title, "Hunters and Killers" doesn't focus on Hunter-Killer aircraft, Skynet's most popular aerial weapon, although a couple of H-Ks do pop up in the story.
TIME TRAVEL
There is no time travel in this story.
TerminatorComic booksTue, 17 Feb 2015 01:15:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/17/Terminator-flashback-Hunters-and-Killers-1992‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘The Enemy Within’ (1991-92)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/16/Terminator-flashback-The-Enemy-Within-199192
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-enemy-within.jpg">
Dark Horse makes it 3-for-3 so far on its "Terminator" miniseries with <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terminator:_The_Enemy_Within" target="_blank">"The Enemy Within"</a> (1991-92). New writer Ian Edginton competently continues the character arcs of Mary Randall, Dudley and Ed Astin. While the art by Vince Giarrano (pencils and inks) and Steve Buccellato (colors) isn't quite as gorgeous as the previous two series, it's solid.
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With a bevy of interconnecting storylines, "The Enemy Within" is a good ride, but it ends oddly. The fates of Dudley and Astin are unclear, and the grand finale – while humorously entertaining – is redolent of the movies as the Terminator sinks into a vat of "hot acid." Mary even gives him a send-off of "You're terminated, sucker!"
CHARACTERS
John Connor: In his mother's womb during this time.
Sarah Connor: Off the grid south of the border during this time.
Kyle Reese: Dead during this time, as per the events of the movie.
Mary Randall: Mary's mission has a happy ending as she kills the Devil Terminator and meets a potential love interest in Sloane. Perhaps she'll get to experience somewhat of a normal life in 1984.
Dr. Ed Astin: At times seeming like a potential love interest for Mary, he nabs the T-800 schematics from Dudley's brain and heads to Dr. Hollister, looking to make a monetary deal. He is seemingly killed at the story's end, but maybe not.
Dr. Hollister: It seems like he's the crucial link in the chain from the T-800 wreckage to Skynet, what with his access to the T-800 wreckage, an intact endoskeleton skull and a gun from the future. In the end, though, he's killed and it's the T-800 schematic from Dudley's brain that becomes the pivotal element.
Detective Sloane: Similar to Agent Ellison from "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," this LAPD detective digs into events that are inexplicable -- until you account for robots from the future.
Four more resistance fighters: Yep, a whole 'nother group comes through a time bubble. Unaware of whether Mary's group even made a successful jump to 1984, this bunch has the same mission: Bumping off Hollister.
TERMINATORS
Dudley: As the title suggests, "The Enemy Within" explores the inner turmoil of this half-human, half-Terminator. His fate is left up in the air at the story's end. But at least he's rid of the Terminator portion of his brain.
Devil Terminator: Looking like a Terminator version of Darth Maul, it features parts from C890.L and Z000.M, the Terminators who beat each other to the edge of death in "Secondary Objectives." He bites the dust in a vat of "hot acid" at the Cyberdyne plant. Obviously, the writer and artist had seen "T2."
CONTINUITY
Still in 1984 in the wake of the first movie, "The Enemy Within" picks up after "Secondary Objectives." Mary, Dudley and Astin return to Los Angeles from Mexico, where they had seemingly dispatched the two Terminators in "Secondary Objectives." However, those two units combined themselves together to form a Devil-esque Terminator.
Astin operates on the brain of the hybrid, Dudley. A deleted scene from "T2" showed John digging the chip out of the T-800's brain to engage its learning function. Cameron also gets operated on in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles." Astin purges Dudley's Terminator side – including a complete T-800 schematic -- onto a disc, leaving Dudley as purely human (at least in terms of his brain). This disc seemingly will become the key to the creation of Skynet, as it ends up in the hands of an FBI agent at the story's end.
TIME TRAVEL
In Issue 2, four more resistance fighters use the TDE first seen in "Tempest." Using a bomb with a timer, it blows up after their departure. They emerge in the Los Angeles Zoo, apparently due to more of the "time-spatial slippage" that placed Z000.M in the ocean in "Secondary Objectives."
As for their emergence a few months after Mary's group, the best assumption is that they set the TDE controls for a few months later. Another possibility is that the "time-spatial slippage" affected the time in addition to the space.
Evidence for "fate":
• "The Enemy Within" is the most fate-oriented "Terminator" series so far. In Issue 3, Dudley says Cyberdyne is destined to pave the path to Skynet due to "immutable temporal law." An FBI agent gains possession of a complete T-800 schematic, perhaps meaning the artificial sentience of Skynet is closer than ever to becoming reality.
• Heck, the structure that will become Skynet's TDE facility (which sends all the various groups back through time in these series) is already being built by Cyberdyne in 1984.
Evidence that "the future is not set":
• However, the details of the road to Skynet are different from earlier in the series (and from "T2," for that matter): Instead of Dr. Hollister and the first movie's T-800 wreckage paving the path, it is now the T-800 schematics from Dudley's brain, which end up in the possession of an FBI agent. We don't know for sure if this is a good or bad thing. I vote for the latter, considering that Cyberdyne was a favored corporation of the U.S. government in the events that led up to the 1997 Judgment Day as chronicled in "T2." It seems this new chain of events simply cuts out the middle man. At any rate, this FBI agent has become the fulcrum.
TerminatorComic booksMon, 16 Feb 2015 01:06:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/16/Terminator-flashback-The-Enemy-Within-199192‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Secondary Objectives’ (1991)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/15/Terminator-flashback-Secondary-Objectives-1991
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-secondary-objectives.jpg">
<a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terminator:_Secondary_Objectives" target="_blank">"Secondary Objectives"</a> (1991) features the same plot as the first movie – a Terminator (well, two of them in this case) – intends to track down and kill Sarah. But while that was a tense action-movie experience, this four-issue series lives and breathes more.
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Building on John Arcudi's solid foundation in "Tempest," James Robinson -- who also penned "One Shot" – proves to be an adept character writer as he further explores three heroes. The fact that the good guys and the Terminators both seek Sarah Connor adds an extra bit of intrigue as we wonder if she might pop up.
Dark Horse continues its dynamic art on this title, with Paul Gulacy (pencils), Karl Kesel (inks) and Gregory Wright (colors) doing the honors this time around.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: In his mom's womb at this time.
Sarah Connor: While she doesn't appear in "Secondary Objectives," her presence is palpable as two Terminators aim to track her down in Mexico and kill her before she gives birth to John. (I'm not sure if the cover subject of Issue 3 is supposed to be Sarah or Mary. If it's the former, cue the cries of false advertising.)
Kyle Reese: Dead at this time, as per the events of the first movie.
Mary Randall: The lone survivor among the five resistance fighters in "Tempest," this child of the Future War often marvels at the beauty of the Earth in 1984. It's similar to Kyle Reese's reflections in a deleted scene in "The Terminator" (and additional passages in the novelizations). Reese felt like he didn't belong, but Mary is soaking up every minute of her new lease on life. Still, she's focused on the mission: acting as a lure for the Terminators so they can't get to Sarah.
Astin: The former Cyberdyne scientist seems fatefully drawn to Mary. Or it could just be that he has a crush on her.
Dr. Hollister: The money-grubbing Cyberdyne lead scientist from "Tempest" gets a second chance at his research when C890.L sends him the head of one of the killed endoskeletons from "Tempest."
TERMINATORS
Dudley (I825.M): Like Marcus Wright from "Terminator Salvation," he's a human/Terminator hybrid. He's on the side of good, but always fighting his inner demons in the form of radioed commands from the two evil Terminators.
C890.L: The lone T-800 survivor from "Tempest," he sends Hollister the endoskeleton head and then embarks on his secondary objective: killing the pregnant Sarah Connor. We learn that this particular T-800 weighs 500 pounds.
Z000.M: This T-800 enters the "Tempest" time-displacement equipment a bit later, and although she emerges in 1984 at the same time as the others, she plunges into the Pacific Ocean due to "time-spatial slippage." She walks the ocean's bottom until she reaches shore. We learn that this particular T-800 weighs 400 pounds (although she carries it well).
CONTINUITY
"Secondary Objectives" picks up directly after "Tempest" – in 1984, during the time when Sarah is pregnant. Cyberdyne's Dr. Hollister continues his research because "Tempest's" surviving Terminator, C890.L, sends the head of an endoskeleton to him. The road toward Skynet proceeds.
But C890.L and his new ally, Z000.M, turn from the mission of protecting Hollister to their secondary objective: killing Sarah Connor. That, of course, was the first movie's plot, too.
Sarah is keeping a low profile, with a hideout in the mountains of Mexico. Interestingly, in Now Comics' chronicle of the Future War, John Connor's headquarters and training center are in the Mexican mountains.
Consistent with "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," Terminators can't swim. Still, dropping to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean is merely an inconvenience for Z000.M, as she walks along the bottom until she reaches the California shoreline. And C890.L is able to climb out of the river, where he crashed at the end of "Tempest."
Dudley puts together a bulky weapon that kills C890.L with a blast of electricity that drains the entire power grid of Mexico City. It's perhaps a less-refined version of Ruggles' "fazer" from "One Shot."
Dudley then reprograms C890.L so it will fight Z000.M. Along with the T-800 in "T2," this is the second example of a reprogrammed Terminator. But Dudley is only able to temporarily reprogram this one, and at the story's end, C890.L – having killed Z000.M – aims to repair himself with parts from Z000.M and then resume his hunt for our heroes. As with "T2," the technical specifics of the reprogramming process are not explored.
TIME TRAVEL
Z000.M uses the TDE from "Tempest" a bit later than the two groups from that series, and although she emerges in the same time in 1984, due to "time-spatial slippage," she ends up dropping into the Pacific Ocean. Similar geographical displacement happened in "Tempest" when the time bubbles of the two groups bounced off each other so they didn't emerge in the same place.
TerminatorComic booksSun, 15 Feb 2015 01:19:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/15/Terminator-flashback-Secondary-Objectives-1991‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘One Shot’ (1991)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/14/Terminator-flashback-One-Shot-1991
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-one-shot.jpg">
We're only up to 1991 in our "Terminator" flashback series, and those TDE (time displacement equipment) platforms in the Future War are already getting mighty crowded. The same month "T2" came out (July 1991), Dark Horse sent more folks into the time bubble in <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terminator:_One_Shot" target="_blank">"One Shot,"</a> which is the actual title of this 51-page one-shot comic for reasons that will become clear.
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Matt Wagner's stylized, many-paneled art is a departure from the dynamic style seen in "Tempest," but I can go with it for one issue. James Robinson weaves a decent noir yarn about a woman named Sarah (Lang) Connor, who schemes to kill her doting new husband, Michael Connor, for his riches. Due to the happenstance of now being named Sarah Connor, fate throws a monkey wrench into her plan.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: Not born yet during the time of this story – although in one panel, Michael Connor becomes John Connor due to a typo.
Sarah Connor: Busy with problems of her own (the events of the 1984 movie) during the time of this story.
Kyle Reese: Busy with problems of his own (the events of the 1984 movie) during the time of this story.
Sarah (Lang) Connor: The target of the "first" T-800. This Sarah is unfortunate but not sympathetic, as she had planned to murder her husband, Michael, before becoming a target herself.
Ellis Ruggles: This retired Los Angeles police officer was sent back from the Future War to 1955 by John Connor as a safety valve in case Skynet ever tried to kill previous generations in John's lineage. He has "one shot" to take out the T-800 with a "fazer" he assembled from circuitry he smuggled through the time bubble ("... inserted within me. I won't be specific, but it was damn uncomfortable.").
Corporal Graves: John also sent this man to 1965 as another safety valve. But he was killed immediately by onrushing traffic. A freeway had been built in the spot of the time-displacement bubble in the time since Ruggles' emergence.
TERMINATORS
The "first" T-800: Red-haired and muscular, she was transported by Skynet just before it transported the Arnold T-800 in the first movie, presumably to slightly earlier time as the two Terminators didn't emerge on top of each other.
CONTINUITY
"One Shot" is a side-story to the first movie, taking place simultaneously in 1984, but up the coast in San Francisco. As the Arnold T-800 blows away two Sarah Connors tracks the Sarah we know and love, the female T-800 pursues a fourth Sarah Connor who isn't listed in the Los Angeles phone book because she had recently acquired the name through marriage. Retired cop Ruggles goes after this T-800.
In the prologue, Robinson revisits the TDE facility seen in "All My Future's Past" and adds the element of the female T-800 being sent back by Skynet just before the resistance arrived and saw the Arnold model being transported.
Robinson calls the TDE facility Skynet's "Master Control," keeping with the terminology of "Tempest." In the Now Comics, it was just generically known as a Skynet fortress where the time-displacement platforms were located. I like Dark Horse's stronger terminology, although this L.A.-based Master Control shouldn't be confused with Skynet's worldwide headquarters in the Rocky Mountains.
TIME TRAVEL
In "One Shot," we learn about three new instances of time travel, starting with the female T-800. We also learn that John sent back Ruggles to 1955 and Graves to 1965. Robinson does not tell when or from what TDE facility John transports Ruggles and Graves. The fact that the soldiers emerged in a spot that became a freeway after 1955 and before 1965 suggests it is in a different location than the TDEs chronicled in the movies and "Tempest." All of those time bubbles materialized in parking lots, back alleys or side streets.
I'm getting uncomfortable with how casually "Terminator's" storytellers are starting to treat time travel. While Skynet built the TDEs, it seems like the resistance can access and operate them just as easily.
Indeed, if you make a tally from the stories so far, the resistance has used TDEs more than Skynet has. At least the previous comics and movie novelizations chronicled the resistance's costly military missions to access the TDEs (although "T2" conveniently piggybacked onto the first movie). "One Shot" doesn't even bother to chronicle the TDE mission that sent back Ruggles and Graves.
If you're keeping score at home, so far we've learned about:
• Three TDE facilities and four distinct TDE platforms
• Seven agents sent back by Skynet (all Terminators except for the hybrid from "Tempest" who was secretly a good guy) in four different time bubbles (three in 1984 and one in 1995)
• Nine agents sent back by the resistance (although one was a reprogrammed Terminator) in five different time bubbles (in 1955, 1965, 1984 [two] and 1995)
TerminatorComic booksSat, 14 Feb 2015 02:44:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/14/Terminator-flashback-One-Shot-1991‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘Tempest’ (1990)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/12/Terminator-flashback-Tempest-1990
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-tempest.jpg">
As Now Comics, which would go bankrupt in 1991, wrapped up its run on "Terminator," the license was quickly snatched up by Dark Horse Comics – so quickly that its first two issues of <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terminator:_Tempest" target="_blank">"Tempest"</a> overlap with the final two issues from Now (August and September 1990). While several other companies would hold the license in the years ahead, Dark Horse – in its three stints with the license – would produce by far the most "Terminator" comics.
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The four-issue "Tempest" is a promising start, featuring smart scripting from John Arcudi and – even more notably – first-class art from Chris Warner and Paul Guinan. Whereas the Now comics rarely varied its panel size, Dark Horse features vibrant and dynamic panels: what is traditionally thought of as good comic-book layouts.
"Tempest" is the first comic set pre-Judgment Day rather than post-JD. While "Tempest" contradicts the specifics of time travel and the TDEs (time-displacement equipment) of "All My Future's Past," that actually allows us to think about the supposed continuity gaffes and find in-universe explanations. It can be done, as I'll explain below.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: Not in the story. He's in his mother's womb during this time.
Sarah Connor: Not in the story. She's pregnant with John during this time.
Kyle Reese: He's dead, as per the events of the movie, and is a couple decades away from being born.
Five resistance fighters: A quintet travels from 2029 to 1984 to wipe out Cyberdyne.
Dr. Hollister: The head of Cyberdyne's top-secret Project Bellerophon serves the same role Miles Dyson will in "T2," but he's not as noble as Dyson. He has no problem with four Terminators protecting him as he develops artificial intelligence. Hollister is in it for the money.
TERMINATORS
Four (or so it seems) T-800s: This quartet travels from 2029 to 1984 to protect Cyberdyne's Dr. Hollister from the five resistance fighters who aim to kill him. In Issue 4 we learn that the T-800 series debuted in 2009 and "it (takes) over a year to cultivate human clone tissue over the Terminator chasis." This bloody process would later be seen in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
I825.M: This particular member of the quartet (to be dubbed Dudley in future stories) is actually a human with cybernetic parts. Calling himself a "survivor," he served Skynet as a surgeon for T-800s in the Future War, but switches sides to humanity in 1984. He's a precursor to Marcus Wright of "Terminator Salvation."
The wreckage of the first movie's endoskeleton: The police possess the entire (albeit flattened by a metal press) endoskeleton – not just the chip and arm -- and Hollister has been allowed to look at the wreckage and take copious notes.
CONTINUITY
"Tempest" is the first-published comic to take place in the aftermath of the 1984 portion of the movie. Arcudi's text says it takes place in 1990 (at least on the early printings), but Dark Horse later changed it to 1984, according to the "Terminator" Wiki.
In addition to predicting the "Sarah Connor Chronicles' " clone-tissue cultivation process and "Terminator Salvation's" Marcus Wright, the prescient Arcudi gives us one of the subplots of "T2" a year before its release. But instead of Sarah trying to destroy Cyberdyne, five resistance fighters time-jump from 2029 to do so.
Arcudi's chronicle of Skynet's TDE platforms is different from Chuck Dixon's in "All My Future's Past." But since the two titles came out at exactly the same time, I can't blame either one for contradicting the other.
Dixon's interpretation makes a bit more logical sense. In "All My Future's Past," we see the T-800 use one platform (which is promptly destroyed), then Kyle uses another platform a klick away. This accounts for the different locations their time bubbles appear in L.A.
"Tempest" reimagines those two TDEs as "prototypes" located at Skynet's Master Control, which was then destroyed by the resistance. We generally think of Skynet's headquarters as being in the Rocky Mountains, not L.A., but one could argue that the TDE fortress of "All My Future's Past" was the "Master Control" for the L.A. portion of the war.
Three months later, the resistance comes upon this third, superior TDE – also in L.A. – which can send back a bunch of Terminators (or people) at once.
While we usually think of time travel in the dimension of time, "Tempest" also includes a minor glitch regarding time travel in the dimension of space. As noted, "All My Future's Past" logically placed the TDE bubbles for the T-800 and Kyle a klick apart. But "Tempest" has the Terminators follow the resistance through the SAME TDE programmed for the SAME time.
Logically, this means: 1) The two groups will appear at the same time in the same place, either in a comfortable group or hideously fused together like the Ripley clones in "Alien Resurrection," 2) The time bubbles will bounce off each other slightly, so the two groups emerge near each other but not directly on top of each other, or 3) Because the TDEs trade a bubble of reality from one time for that of another time, the Terminators will replace the resistance fighters, thus returning the resistance fighters to the TDE platform.
Option 2 best describes what happens in "Tempest," but rather than a slight separation in space, the two groups emerge in different parts of L.A. Editor Diana Schutz responded to a letter writer in Issue 4 with: "The Terminators DID arrive at the same time as our soldiers, just not at the same place. The TDE was damaged, after all, and besides, one would expect that a failsafe mechanism would be built in to prevent two objects from arriving at both the same time AND the same place."
In another continuity hiccup, in Issue 4 we learn that the T-800s debuted in 2009. This contradicts "All My Future's Past," where T-800s were brand-new in 2029. The real-world explanation for the contradiction is that Now and Dark Horse did not compare notes. But the in-universe explanation might be ...
TIME TRAVEL
As I see it, the in-universe explanation for why the T-800s are created in 2029 in "All My Future's Past" and in 2009 in "Tempest" is that the former occurred on an older timeline than the latter. If each instance of time travel instantly creates a new timeline, there have been four distinct timelines in the saga by this point: The one created by the T-800 (the movie), the one created by Kyle (the movie), the one created by the resistance ("Tempest") and the one created by the Terminators ("Tempest").
Indeed, it makes sense that the T-800s would debut earlier on a "worse" timeline (for example, one where the T-800 appeared in 1984 but Kyle did not, and thus the T-800 killed Sarah) but later on a "better" timeline (for example, one where Kyle stopped the T-800 from killing Sarah).
In another example of differing timelines, the resistance soldier named Mary notes that "Project Bellerophon will perfect artificial intelligence sometime before 1993." This was the history in Mary's future, but it doesn't sync with "T2," where the name "Bellerophon" is not used and where Cyberdyne has not perfected A.I. by 1995, let alone '93.
Each instance of time travel immediately creates a new, slightly different future. As such, while some fans think "Terminator" continuity is a headache, in my view the instances of time travel actually allow for a tidy explanation of "the events happened on different timelines."
TerminatorComic booksThu, 12 Feb 2015 01:36:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/12/Terminator-flashback-Tempest-1990‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘All My Future’s Past’ (1990)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/11/Terminator-flashback-All-My-Futures-Past-1990
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-all-my-futures-past.jpg">
Now Comics wraps up its stint on "The Terminator" with its best work. The two-issue <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator:_All_My_Future%27s_Past" target="_blank">"All My Future's Past"</a> is a prequel to the first movie chronicling the events leading up to the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Kyle Reese climbing onto the time-displacement unit platforms and traveling from 2029 to 1984.
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Writer Chuck Dixon shows solid knowledge of the first film (the only canonical source at the time). It's particularly interesting to see how John Connor uses his free will to make tactical decisions in what he sees as a fate-based scenario, while also playing coy around his colleagues. The art comes from the single-named Diego (Issue 1) and Delsol (Issue 2) and it's in the painted style established by Alex Ross on "The Burning Earth." I prefer the look of "All My Futures Past," as most of the scenes are in daylight.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: Sporting a golden mullet and mustache, the resistance leader orders Kyle to lead the attack on the TDU (time displacement unit) fortress, with John's own unit following. When Kyle volunteers – with no prompting from John – to use the second TDU platform to follow the T-800 back to 1984, John has Kyle memorize the verbal message to give to Sarah.
Sarah Connor: She's dead during this time.
Kyle Reese: Kyle takes it upon himself to go back to 1984. He says he knows what Sarah looks like, and that will give him an edge against the Terminator, which only knows Sarah's name.
Lanny: The story's narrator, a young man from a hidden valley community in the Pacific Northwest, is given a tape recording by a dying Oregon-based resistance pilot containing information about Skynet's time-travel experiment. Lanny walks 1,000 miles to L.A. to deliver the info to John Connor. Then he joins Kyle's attack on the fortress.
TERMINATORS
Endoskeletons: These basic units fight the resistance outside and inside the fortress. The resistance fighters call them "gearjammers."
T-800, model 101: The unit from the first movie (Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time just before the resistance fighters arrive. Upon seeing the Terminator on the platform, a resistance soldier says, "It's one of the new models! The ones we can't detect!"
CONTINUITY
"All My Future's Past" tells of the events leading up to the T-800 and Kyle traveling from 2029 to 1984. Dixon accounts for the different locations in L.A. where each time traveler emerges: The TDU platforms are at different ends of the fortress, about "a klick" apart. The first one is destroyed by Terminators after the T-800's time-jump, but the resistance then discovers the second platform.
John is armed with the knowledge from his mom, but he plays it coy around everyone. In the first issue, he verbally theorizes about Skynet's time-travel strategy as if he doesn't already know what its plan is. Perhaps he doesn't want to confuse his officers by suddenly pulling out pre-ordained knowledge. In the second issue, he doesn't explicitly order Kyle to follow the Terminator through time. Rather, Kyle volunteers, noting that he knows what Sarah looks like. As we know from the movie, this is thanks to the Polaroid John gave him.
The story of the T-800 and Kyle (and other time travelers in upcoming stories) entering the time-displacement bubbles will be retold several times in future stories – including this summer's "Terminator Genisys." It's always told a bit differently. The real-world reason for this is that the movies don't account for the comics and books. An in-universe reason might be that each version of the TDU story exists on its own version of the timeline, which later gets overwritten by later versions thanks to new instances of time travel.
"All My Future's Past" is consistent with the first movie in that the resistance is winning. A soldier says: "We've wrecked their defense grid. We have the pulse weapons to destroy the terminators. They're finished. It's only a matter of time. So the only way they can win is if they rig the fight."
Dixon provides no explanation for how the war turned back in Skynet's favor by 2031, the time of the original Now Comics series.
TIME TRAVEL
John orders Kyle's unit into the TDU fortress first ("Somebody get me Reese. I want an insertion team geared up and ready to move fast") and then hangs back with the second unit. He keeps in touch via walkie-talkie as Kyle's unit finds a second platform and Kyle volunteers to follow the Terminator to 1984. So John displays faith that "the future is not set" by positioning Kyle in the right circumstances, but then he lets fate play out.
Throughout "All My Future's Past," many characters (even John) wonder whether or not an instance of time travel – particularly if the T-800 successfully kills Sarah -- will affect them or the fabric of their reality in 2029.
• Before they reach the TDU fortress, Lanny says: "I just wonder if we'd ever know if we failed. Maybe none of us would even be born."
• After the Terminator goes back in time, Lanny says: "We're still here. That must mean something. I guess we wouldn't know if we changed the past, huh?"
• After discovering that there's a second TDU platform and that Kyle is prepared to go back in time, John wonders: "If I'm wrong, if SHE was wrong ... Well, I guess we'll never know about it, will we?"
• Only Kyle believes purely in the necessity of going back in time. As Kyle disrobes to step on the second TDU platform, a fellow resistance soldier asks: "Why you? If this doesn't work, we'll need you." Kyle replies: "If this doesn't work, there won't be anyone left."
• At the end of the yarn, Lanny also believes in the necessity of Kyle's mission. After Kyle time-jumps, Lanny narrates: "We all stand there for the danged longest time looking at the place where Reese stood. It's like we're waiting for something to happen. Some kind of change, maybe. But nothing changed for us. There's still a war going on. We know deep inside we're gonna win. ... We're looking at the end of an age and the beginning of the second time of man. ... Kyle Reese ... died before his own birth to free the world."
We know that the instance of time travel did not alter the fabric of 2029. However, we have no way of knowing if the actions of Kyle Reese are the reason for this. For all we know, 2029 – at least as these characters know it -- would've stayed the same if Kyle had not gone back in time. By the same token, for all we know, had the T-800's mission succeeded, John Connor could've winked out of existence as the Gods of time made the appropriate adjustment.
"All My Future's Past" tosses around theories about fate and free will through its characters – much like "Termaintor" fans think about these concepts. But it doesn't give any solid answers.
TerminatorComic booksWed, 11 Feb 2015 00:19:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/11/Terminator-flashback-All-My-Futures-Past-1990‘Terminator’ flashback: ‘The Burning Earth’ (1990)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/10/Terminator-flashback-The-Burning-Earth-1990
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-burning-earth.jpg">
Now Comics' run of "Terminator" stories makes a significant jump from mediocre to widely lauded with the five-issue mood piece <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Terminator:_The_Burning_Earth" target="_blank">"The Burning Earth"</a> (1990). This is because the painterly art comes from Alex Ross, who was only 19 at the time (the same age as Sarah and Kyle in the first movie!) but has gone on to widespread respect in the comic-book community.
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Writer Ron Fortier continues his mixed-bag writing. The assault by John Connor's team on the Skynet headquarters in Nevada is clear, but some of the specific elements are hard to follow. And it's odd that he introduces a cool concept in Issue 2 – a female T-800 named Aurora – but doesn't do anything other than add her to the ranks of Skynet's defensive units.
John, who narrates the yarn, notes that "It's been raining for two weeks. I don't even remember what the sun looks like." Ross gives us five issues that are basically set in the ruined environment of the first movie's Future War. By the end, a reader feels drenched in the post-apocalyptic nightmare, which I suspect is the primary goal of "The Burning Earth."
CHARACTERS
John Connor: Often called "Bear," the 57-year-old warrior – who looks like a scraggy Jesus with a red headband -- leads an endgame strike against Skynet's Thunder Mountain headquarters when it becomes clear Skynet intends to launch a wave of nukes to end humanity once and for all.
Sarah Connor: She's presumably dead during this time. John mentions that Sarah had told him about the Skynet HQ being located in the Rocky Mountains.
Kyle Reese: He is dead during this time, as per the events of the first movie.
Tim Reese: Kyle's kid brother, now 24 years old, is a key member of John's team. He is mute due to having his tongue cut out by a Terminator in the regular Now series.
Miguel De Verona: Nicknamed "Patch" due to his eye patch, John's childhood bud is his second-in-command. He tries to keep the dour mood light. When a fellow soldier asks him "What's so damn funny?," he says: "Everything. Don't you see? Soon we'll all be dead. Once you accept that, what else is there to worry about?"
Other characters: Various other resistance fighters from the regular series, including some of the escaped death-camp inmates from Issue 17, populate John's strike team. None of them pop off the page as distinct characters.
TERMINATORS
Endoskeletons: These basic units patrol the interior of Skynet's Thunder Mountain headquarters.
T-800s: These basic infiltrator units are the HQ's perimeter guards.
Aurora: This specific T-800 is notable for being a woman. In a testing session against human captives, she kills one of the men while kissing him. It seems Skynet is testing out a more subtle form of infiltrator. In being a female Terminator, Aurora is a precursor to the T-X from "T3."
Terminators with a matte-black finish and a red slit for eyes: Shaped like medieval knights, these units are the primary warriors of "The Burning Earth's" battle scenes. They don't seem to be an improvement on the T-800s, and indeed, might be a less-advanced model. They can't effectively climb mountains, but they haplessly pursue the resistance soldiers up the side of Thunder Mountain anyway before falling to their destruction, something John finds morbidly funny.
CONTINUITY
According to the "Terminator" Wiki, "The Burning Earth" is set in 2041, 10 years after the events of the main Now Comics series, although this isn't explicitly stated in Fortier's script. The main CPU of Skynet (as in the regular Now series, said to be created by the "Technodyne Corporation") is now located in Thunder Mountain, Nevada. It was in Montana in the main series, and the back cover blurb of the 2003 ibooks trade paperback places the stronghold in Colorado.
In the regular series, Skynet kept some humans alive for its own war-making amusement, but – through self-improvement of its programming – it has resolved to wipe out humanity with nuclear bombs. Seeing that the humans must end the war now, Connor and his soldiers plan to take out Thunder Mountain's power. They succeed, with a Terminator endoskeleton losing power just as it's about to kill John. Fortier hedges his bets on whether this is truly the endgame: "But is it really over? I don't know," John thinks. In the final panel, an endoskeleton's eyes glow red, perhaps because its internal power source kicked in. (From the regular series, we know Tim Reese is alive in 2067, and the Earth appears war-torn during that time.)
TIME TRAVEL
There is no time travel in this series.
TerminatorComic booksTue, 10 Feb 2015 02:11:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/10/Terminator-flashback-The-Burning-Earth-1990‘Terminator’ flashback: Now Comics’ original series Issues 9-17 (1989-90)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/9/Terminator-flashback-Now-Comics-original-series-Issues-917-198990
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//terminator-now-12.jpg">
Now Comics' original <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terminator_%28NOW_Comics%29" target="_blank">"Terminator"</a> series improves from bad to mediocre -- and finally gives readers the hook of meeting John Connor for the first time – in Issues 9-17 (1989-90), when Ron Fortier becomes the regular writer.
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The stories and character arcs become more streamlined, and Fortier delves into specifics of how the resistance and Skynet trade volleys in 2031. We get our first visual image of Connor in an Issue 11 flashback: He inspires the creation of an in-vitro fertilization center beneath Disney World (called "Mort Dizzy World" here) to repopulate the Earth, provide more soldiers and allow women to fight without the burden of pregnancy. John enters the story proper in Issue 12, bailing out Konrad, Tim Reese and other rebels during a battle with Terminators at a baseball field in Georgia.
A big Fortier concept is the personification of Skynet's central computer beneath the mountains of Montana (the base is oddly dubbed "Techno-dyne World Defense Network, code name Skynet"). The central computer creates manifests as an image of God or Ben Franklin or a clown when it speaks to an individual Terminator unit.
CHARACTERS
John Connor: He makes his first appearances of the entire "Terminator" saga in Issues 11 (flashback) and 12 ("live" action). He has red hair and a beard and none of the scars we would see in "T2's" Future War scenes. John is known as the Golden Bear (presumably Jack Nicklaus' estate is not around after Judgment Day to file suit), and one of the groups John had trained at his Mexico mountain headquarters is called Connor's Grizzlies.
Sarah Connor: She's presumably dead during this time.
Kyle Reese: We learn that Kyle is indeed dead (as per the events of the movie). John had been searching for Tim to give him the news about his older brother, along with a letter from Kyle. John doesn't tell Tim or any of the resistance fighters about Kyle's jump through time.
Tim Reese: We learn more specifics about Kyle's kid brother. He is 14 in 2031, and Tim last saw Kyle when Tim was 6 (in 2023). Kyle would've been 13 at that time. We know Tim will at least live to age 50, as he tells a story from the perspective of 2067 in Issue 13.
Miguel De Verona: One of Connor's most trusted officers, "he and Connor had grown up together as children and their bond of friendship was forged in the fires of a hundred bloody campaigns." He doesn't play much of a role in these stories, but he's notable for being John's childhood buddy.
The IVF people: They breed babies via in-vitro fertilization beneath "Dizzy World" and ship the babies to various resistance bases. An IVF convoy from Orlando to Arkansas is at the mercy of Terminators before John Connor sweeps in with guns blazing.
The Cuban/Russian resistance: This bunch has been fighting Skynet in Cuba. Their base, Habitat, produces weapons such as personal energy shields and armored fighting suits.
TERMINATORS
Goliath-103: Skynet is not pleased with the performance of DIX-190 (a T-800, although a rebel mistakenly calls it a "1000-series" in the previous batch of issues) in its fight against the synthetic man Konrad, so Skynet reconstructs DIX-190 into a Goliath-103 in Issue 11. Features include a laser firing arm and a targeting eye camera. However, in the next issue, John easily destroys the Goliath-103 with a big gun. In Issue 13, Skynet believes the "101s" are obsolete and it is rightly disappointed in the first "103." Fortier seems to think of all T-800s as "101s"; I had previously thought "101" indicated the model that looks like Schwarzenegger. The Goliath series is theoretically more advanced than the T-800, but it's much easier to kill than the T-800 in the movie. Then again, that's true of all the T-800s in the Now Comics series.
Goliath-107: Manufactured in a slave labor camp in Detroit (Issue 15), this is Skynet's latest model.
Endoskeletons: These basic models patrol the death camp in Darwin, Calif. (Issue 17).
T-800s with human heads and endoskeleton bodies: Perhaps these units were pulled off the assembly line before their human skin could be completed (Issue 17).
CONTINUITY
These comics continue to chronicle the war in 2031, with peeks into the American South, Cuba and Darwin, Calif.
In flashbacks in Issue 13, we learn that Skynet had complex reasons for both wiping out most of humanity (it felt they desired death, based on reckless behavior ranging from drug use to war) but not all of humanity (Skynet would be bored if it had no one to fight, and as such only fired off 25 percent of the world's guided missiles). We don't learn exact dates of Skynet's self-awareness or its launching of the nukes. But we can deduce it launched the nukes after 1998 (when the United Nations moon base was started) and before 2010 (when Kyle Reese was born).
Issue 13's tale is told from the perspective of Tim Reese as a 50-year-old. Because he's writing his story via candlelight, we can assume the Earth is still ravaged by war in 2067.
TIME TRAVEL
There is no time travel in these issues, although Issue 11 makes it look like DIX-190 is stepping into a time-displacement bubble. However, it's just a way to communicate with Skynet.
TerminatorComic booksMon, 09 Feb 2015 00:01:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/9/Terminator-flashback-Now-Comics-original-series-Issues-917-198990‘Terminator’ flashback: Now Comics’ original series Issues 1-8 (1988-89)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/8/Terminator-flashback-Now-Comics-original-series-Issues-18-198889
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After "The Terminator's" box office success in 1984, it took a while for merchandisers to pounce on the possibilities. Four years later, Now Comics finally told the first further adventures of the saga in the simply named <a href="http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/The_Terminator_%28NOW_Comics%29" target="_blank">"The Terminator."</a> Issues 1-8 (1988-89) of this 17-issue series were penned by three writers who took a throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks mentality.
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Set in 2031, the series chronicles the ongoing rebels vs. Skynet war despite the fact that Kyle tells the cops in "The Terminator" that "Skynet was smashed. We'd won." This discrepancy is never explained in these issues. In fact, when a letter writer asked about the plot hole in Issue 7, the editor responded with a snarky "Well, I must say we take things seriously, don't we? My only response is, this is a comic book, not an historical text, and it is meant to be entertaining." And then the editor basically encourages fans to continue to make fun of this letter writer for criticizing a comic book. (Luckily, times have changed: Today, comic books are more widely treated as art worthy of criticism.)
Writers Fred Schiller (Issue 1), Tony Caputo (2-3) and Jack Herman (4-8) throw a ton of ideas onto the page that predict many elements of future "Terminator" yarns. Not surprisingly for a comic that doesn't explain its very premise, most of these elements aren't developed the way they should be.
Still, this batch of Now comics does give us a fuller picture of the post-apocalyptic world as the saga moves beyond Los Angeles and the core heroes. Most of these issues take place in Florida, but a T-800 also travels to South America (Issues 5-6) with equipment that he intends to use to destroy the ozone layer. He's stopped by jungle people who have heretofore been undisturbed by Skynet.
These issues also delve into daily life in the wasteland, similar to "The Walking Dead"; Issue 7 chronicles survivors searching for food. And they give a cursory glance at Skynet's operations, including a mention of "flesh farms," which calls to mind the Terminators who grow flesh over their endoskeletons in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
CHARACTERS
John Connor: He doesn't appear in this batch of comics. The rebels, including the Miami-area Sarah's Slammers, know that John was on a big mission in L.A. a couple years back, but they haven't heard from him since.
Sarah Connor: She is presumably dead, and Sarah's Slammers is presumably named in her honor.
Kyle Reese: The rebels haven't heard any news on him since the 2029 L.A. mission with John.
Sarah's Slammers: A group of Miami-area rebels.
Tim Reese: Kyle's kid brother, who pops up with Sarah's Slammers.
Moon people: In 1998, the United Nations started a moon base, but it was largely forgotten after the nukes dropped, and Skynet inexplicably didn't know about it. When a supply ship is shot down above Earth, these moon people join forces with Sarah's Slammers.
Konrad: This robot, similar to the synthetics in the "Alien" films, is part of the moon people's group.
TERMINATORS
Baby Terminator: Skynet brainwashes some humans to use as slave labor and infiltrators. A brainwashed human woman paired with a "baby" (actually a Terminator that can communicate with Skynet and perform some attack functions) makes for a good infiltration team in Issue 1.
Terminator with a human brain: This character, briefly seen in Issue 3, is a precursor to Marcus Wright of "Terminator Salvation" – presumably a brainwashed or brain-dead human operating via machine parts.
T-800s: Several of these classic cyborgs, in various models, harass the good guys. None of them is the 101 model (Arnold Schwarzenegger), although one says "I'll be back" in Issue 5. In a departure from the film saga, they tend to talk more like normal humans rather than the terse, robotic style. In that way, they are better infiltrators.
Wolf Terminator: Issue 7 chronicles Skynet's latest creation, a rather clever idea seeing as how the rebels rely on dogs to sniff out Terminators.
T-1000(?): The Terminator chasing Sarah's Slammers in Issues 6 and 8 is called a "1000 series" by one of the rebels. But we don't see any liquid-metal abilities like Robert Patrick's T-1000 in "T2." One notable ability is that this model can swim; this is a weakness of the cyborgs in "Sarah Connor Chronicles."
CONTINUITY
The action jumps from the 2029 wasteland of "The Terminator" to 2031, when the war inexplicably continues despite Kyle's line in the movie that the humans had won.
TIME TRAVEL
Sarah's Slammers had last heard that John and Kyle were engaging a Skynet facility in L.A. (the lab with the time-displacement bubble) in 2029, but they don't know it was for the purpose of sending Kyle back in time. As such, there is no time travel chronicled in these issues, but we can make a general observation:
Evidence that "the future is not set":
• Kyle tells the police in "The Terminator" that "Skynet was smashed. We'd won." These comics show a different future, where the war continues. But it could merely be that Kyle was engaging in wishful thinking.
TerminatorComic booksSun, 08 Feb 2015 02:21:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/8/Terminator-flashback-Now-Comics-original-series-Issues-18-198889‘Jurassic Park’ flashback: IDW Comics’ ‘Dangerous Games’ (2011-12)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/2/Jurassic-Park-flashback-IDW-Comics-Dangerous-Games-201112
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Writers Greg and Erik Bear and artist George Jimenez repackage Richard Connell's classic short story about man hunting man, "The Most Dangerous Game," into a "Jurassic Park" yarn in the entertaining <a href="http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Jurassic_Park:_Dangerous_Games_I" target="_blank">"Dangerous Games"</a> (2011-12), which as of now is the franchise's last comic title.
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Like its predecessor, the monster yarn "The Devils in the Desert," the five-issue "Dangerous Games" is a traditional story (see also the 1994 Ice-T movie "Surviving the Game") that gains extra punch from the presence of dinosaurs. An undercover CIA agent, Daniel Espinosa, is discovered by the Central American drug ring he's investigating. Gabriel Cazares' cartel is so powerful that it has purchased Isla Nublar – dinosaurs and InGen infrastructure included -- from the Costa Rican government. It's a convenient place for Cazares to dispatch his enemies, either via the island's carnivores or his hunter sidekick, Tiburon, who gives Daniel the traditional 24-hour head start.
The return to Isla Nublar presents a confusing – but not fatal – continuity oddity. In "The Lost World" comic adaptation and a DVD deleted scene, we learn that InGen dismantled Jurassic Park and killed all the dinosaurs. However, the canonicity of deleted scenes is up for debate, and one could also argue that the always-shifty Peter Ludlow (who pops up as a villain in a flashback scene in "Dangerous Games") lied and did not actually destroy the park. One could even argue that the mysterious military men from "Return to Jurassic Park" Issues 1-4 (the uncompleted "Green Flame" arc) sold the island to Cazares. At any rate, "Dangerous Games" is the first Isla Nublar yarn since then, and it's fun to return to the original island.
While Espinosa is a likable hero and Cazares and Tiburon are effectively slimy villains, the most fascinating character is Dr. Frances White, a former InGen dinosaur breeder who now lives in Isla Nublar's caves and is like a mother to the velociraptors. She and Daniel bond over "some roast parasaurolophus and a spot of tea" and their mutual dislike of the drug lords. As crazy as it sounds on the surface, Frances' tale works better than the stories about raptor behavior and intelligence in the "Raptor" comics and "Jurassic Park III," because we understand that these raptors imprinted on Frances when they were born.
Something that's less explicable is the raptors' feathers. When Cazares is playing with a baby raptor, at first I thought it was an archaeopteryx. But no, Jimenez draws the raptors like the giant turkeys the kid from Grant's dig site thought they resembled. While this fits with the latest theories about raptors' appearance, it doesn't make sense based on how they looked in previous incarnations. Obviously, the real-world reason for the feathered raptors is Jimenez's artistic license, but in terms of continuity, I suppose we can brush it off with "genetic engineering."
"Dangerous Games" also brings back one of the stars of the first movie: Not Grant, not Sattler, but rather the T-rex, a figure of religious reverence to Frances. If the T-rex lets you go without eating you, you are deemed worthy. Luckily for Daniel, the rex isn't hungry when he bows before her. In their adventures, Daniel and Frances also run across psittacosaurus, an unusually large ankylosaurus, and allosaurus (two of them, in fact). The latter is surprising, as it seemed the movie would have mentioned all the carnivores on the island (T-rex, raptors and dilophosaurus), but it's plausible allosaurus went unmentioned.
Likewise, timeline placement for this comic is tricky but not impossible. I'd say it takes place around the same time as the other IDW titles – "Redemption" and "Devils in the Desert" – in the early Aughts, before Jurassic Park opens to the public in 2005 (as confirmed in the summary for "Jurassic World"). Perhaps Cazares is the last tenant before Masrani Global Corporation purchases Isla Nublar. "Dangerous Games" probably takes place before "Redemption," as it seems the United Nations is not blockading the former InGen islands at this time.
It would be cool if "Jurassic World" gave a shout-out to "Dangerous Games" with a cameo appearance from Frances or a throwaway line about the time between the park's 1993 debacle and the 2005 opening. Unfortunately, judging how things usually work with cross-media franchises, the movie will probably do the opposite and contradict the events of all the comics.
As far as I can tell, there are no future "Jurassic Park" comics planned, so perhaps "Jurassic World" will suffer the same fate as "JP III" and not be adapted. Regardless of what the future holds, IDW did an outstanding job with its three titles – catching us up with the movie characters in "Redemption" and then delivering killer horror/adventure stories in "Devils" and "Dangerous Games."
Jurassic ParkComic booksMon, 02 Feb 2015 01:29:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/2/Jurassic-Park-flashback-IDW-Comics-Dangerous-Games-201112‘Jurassic Park’ flashback: IDW Comics’ ‘The Devils in the Desert’ (2011)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/1/Jurassic-Park-flashback-IDW-Comics-The-Devils-in-the-Desert-2011
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It's been the inclination of most "Jurassic Park" comics that old characters and new dinosaur species are the key to success. But the opposite approach – new characters and old dinosaur species – has produced the best comics, first with Topps' "Return to Jurassic Park" Issues 5-8 and more recently with IDW's four-issue <a href="http://jurassicpark.wikia.com/wiki/Jurassic_Park:_The_Devils_in_the_Desert_I" target="_blank">"The Devils in the Desert"</a> (2011).
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"Devils in the Desert" is written and drawn by John Byrne, a comics legend whose work I have admired on other franchise efforts like "Aliens: Earth Angel" and "Angel: Blood and Trenches." Byrne writes easy-to-follow stories with twists and surprises. His characters are clearly and broadly drawn, but with enough room for subtleties like romantic attraction, as is the case between paleontologist Dr. Monica Alvarez and Sheriff Will Tobias.
While some "JP" comics throw dinosaurs and the word "ROAR" all over the page in attempt to create mayhem, Byrne understands that what works in movies doesn't necessarily work in comics, so he leaves a lot of the scares off-panel and to the imaginations of readers. Set in the southern California desert, "Devils" is a slow-burn horror story with ranchers, rural law enforcement, hikers and hunters. Byrne also peppers in the FBI and InGen officials, who walk the fine line of protecting their interests while claiming no responsibility for the pteranodon attacks.
Byrne does his research into the "JP" mythos. "Devils' " four covers feature what appears to be the silhouette of a toothsome T-rex, but the end of Issue 1 reveals the beast to be a pteranodon (or rather a whole nest of them). Byrne was no doubt inspired by the end of "Jurassic Park III," when Grant notes the airborne pteranodons are searching for a new nesting ground. While that movie -- and "The Lost World," which likewise closed with a shot of pteranodons flying free – played up the prehistoric beauty of the beasts, "Devils" finally acknowledges the serious threat they pose.
InGen official: "I did warn John Hammond it was less than the best idea to create things with wings. If anything was going to get off one of those islands without our help, the pteranodons would top the list."
But pteranodons, even those in "JP III," don't have teeth. "Devils' " Alvarez (the series' breakout character), makes note of this, and thinks she has an explanation. Rightly assuming that these creatures came from InGen's islands, she says: "These aren't prehistoric animals. I saw Alan Grant give a lecture a few years back. He called them genetically engineered theme park monsters. And that's what they are!" Like many "JP" yarns, "Devils" acknowledges that these aren't dinosaurs in a scientific sense, but at the same time imagines that they are indeed dinosaurs in a broad sense: Alvarez's theories about pteranodon nesting behavior prove useful.
Since Grant's "JP III" lecture was in 2001, Alvarez's statement places "Devils" in 2004, just before "Redemption," which takes place just before the public opening of Jurassic Park in 2005. (June's "Jurassic World" – which, like "Devils," features no major characters from the original three films -- tells us the park has been open for 10 years.)
"Devils" proves pteranodons have a lot of mileage left after their breakout turn in "JP III," as they slaughter horses, cattle and humans, and take on airplanes, big military weapons ... and in a great showdown between prehistoric and modern beast -- a polar bear.
By not trying to do too much with the mythology or core characters, Byrne creates the most satisfying "JP" comics yarn up to this point, and one that would work well as a movie if the franchise wanted to try a less world-shattering story. It's a good old-fashioned rural horror story that just happens to feature flying dinosaurs.
Jurassic ParkComic booksSun, 01 Feb 2015 02:07:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/2/1/Jurassic-Park-flashback-IDW-Comics-The-Devils-in-the-Desert-2011‘Jurassic Park’ flashback: IDW Comics’ ‘Redemption’ (2010)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/1/31/Jurassic-Park-flashback-IDW-Comics-Redemption-2010
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Following 2001's "Jurassic Park III," the franchise entered a dark age for nearly a decade. Serious fans could follow the development hell of the fourth movie (which, after many fits and starts, finally will come out in June), but the drought of new material didn't end until 2010's <a href="http://www.idwpublishing.com/product-category/jurassic-park/jurassic-park-jurassic-park-redemption/" target="_blank">"Redemption,"</a> a five-issue series from new license-holder IDW Comics.
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Written by Bob Schreck with art by Nate Van Dyke, "Redemption" is a notch below the best "JP" comics up to this point – the Abby-and-Derek issues of "Return to Jurassic Park" and the adaptation of "The Lost World" – but a cut above Steve Englehart's Topps' material. Its biggest weakness is Van Dyke's art: None of the characters look like their movie counterparts, and even the dinosaur species are hard to tell apart. A carnotaurus rampages through the early issues, then a gigantosaurus is the villain at the end, and I'm not sure where the hand-off occurred.
I like the idea of using the carnotaurus, a cool carnivore in Michael Crichton's "The Lost World." But I'm disappointed that "Redemption" opts not to give it chameleon abilities like Crichton did, perhaps because invisibility would be hard to render. Then again, there are plenty of "Predator" comic books.
And I like the idea of revisiting Lex and Tim, who are now in their mid-20s. Both have money (from an inheritance from Hammond) and political clout (from their money and fame). Lex runs LexxCrops, the worldwide leader in organic vegetables, and provides financial assistance to the United Nations' ongoing military mission to keep Isla Sorna and Isla Nublar free from human interference.
Similar to the premise of "Jurassic World," public opinion has shifted in favor of Jurassic Park opening as a park. According to the summary on IMDB, as the movie begins, the park has been open for a decade. So this comic takes place soon before the park opens in the mid-Aughts. "Redemption," though, chronicles Tim's failed bid to open a park with strictly herbivorous dinosaurs.
Tim: "And absolutely no velociraptors, right?"
Secret partner: "Not a one."
Tim's downfall is that he trusts this secret partner, known as L. Would, who has hired "Jurassic Park" scientist Henry Wu (Wu appears to die in "Redemption," but he'll be back in "Jurassic World"), former BioSyn tech-thief Dodgson (who is a henchman here, rather than a big bad as he was in Crichton's "Lost World") and a paleontologist named Backer. Wu, who had stolen embryos before leaving Isla Nublar during the storm (it would've been awkward if he would've run into Nedry), aims to clone a fresh batch of dinosaurs in Texas. Backer is an homage to Robert Bakker, the real paleontologist who gets a shout-out from Timmy in "Jurassic Park": "There's this other book by a guy named Bakker." (One could make a case that "Redemption" is ret-conning that line to "a guy named Backer.") "The Lost World's" Burke was also an homage to Bakker, and "Redemption's" Backer is similarly bearded.
As a reader might have guessed by rearranging the letters of his fake name, the secret partner is Peter Ludlow, who purposely wants Tim's venture to fail as a convoluted revenge scheme. Under Ludlow's instruction, Wu is breeding carnivorous dinosaurs along with veggie-saurs. The resurrection of Ludlow – last seen being eaten by a baby T-rex in "The Lost World" – is, of course, absurd. But it's at least fun to guess who this man with the scarred visage is. I'm reminded of when "The X-Files" resurrected Jeffrey Spender, and some people thought it was Mulder. For a moment, I suspected this scarred man might be Dr. Gustavus, the mad scientist from "Return to Jurassic Park" Issues 5-6, who was hideously scarred by a dilophosaurus.
(The return of Ludlow is at least handled better than the return of Muldoon in the "Raptor" comics, where the raptor expert inexplicably shows up in perfect health. By the way, Muldoon's survival was rendered apocryphal in the "Lost World" comic adaptation and a DVD deleted scene, which tells us InGen paid out a wrongful death settlement to Muldoon's family.)
Although the art's lack of resemblance to the actors hinders a reader's connection to the characters, the rivalry and reconciliation of Lex and Tim is handled well. Schreck imagines that the kids have grown up into flawed people – which is hard to take at first – but ultimately they are sympathetic and arguably noble. They are similar to their grandpa in that way: Tim is the visionary "Jurassic Park" version of Hammond while Lex is the naturalist "Lost World" version. The art also blunts the anticlimactic return of Grant and Ellie, who help round up the dinos.
All told, "Redemption" is a respectable continuation of the saga that delves into the worldwide politics of dinosaurs while bringing back familiar characters (if not familiar faces). As has been the case in most of the "Jurassic Park" comics to this point, the dinosaur scares and carnage fall flat. But if Schreck's story had been made into a movie with great dinosaur effects, I think it would've been fun.
Jurassic ParkComic booksSat, 31 Jan 2015 01:43:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/1/31/Jurassic-Park-flashback-IDW-Comics-Redemption-2010‘Jurassic Park’ flashback: Topps Comics’ ‘Return to Jurassic Park’ (1995-96) and 1995 Annualhttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/1/25/Jurassic-Park-flashback-Topps-Comics-Return-to-Jurassic-Park-199596-and-1995-Annual
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After the mostly ridiculous "Raptor" trilogy (a.k.a. "Jurassic Park Adventures"), Topps Comics' "Jurassic Park" saga got a nudge upward in quality with the nine-issue <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park#Topps_Comics" target="_blank">"Return to Jurassic Park"</a> (1995-96), which consisted of two major arcs.
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"Raptor" trilogy writer Steve Englehart returned for Issues 1-4, which I'll label the "Green Flame" arc. While his trademark of rushed "throw it at the wall" storytelling is still in place, the arc has several elements that give it an edge over the "Raptor" material. In an interesting premonition of Michael Crichton's second novel, which would come out later in 1995, Englehart shows that Isla Nublar has become a Lost World since we last checked in on the island in "Raptor" Issue 1.
As part of its Green Flame project, the corrupt U.S. military (or a corrupt spinoff group of military men – it's not made clear) takes down the containment walls of Jurassic Park without John Hammond's knowledge. The idea is to let the park go back to nature and provide a natural protection for the secret project (which, like the identity of its perpetrators, is left unexplained). Starring Grant, Sattler, Muldoon and some new characters, the yarn expands the comics' roster of dinosaurs and lifts some scenes from Crichton's novel that didn't make it into the movie:
• In Issue 1, Edgar (Hammond's InGen henchman) throws stones at a stegosaurus to drive it off, like Tim does in the book.
• In Issue 2, the group is attacked by cearadactyls, as Grant and the kids are in the book.
• In Issue 3, the group is attacked by a Tyrannosaurus rex on the river, as Grant and the kids are in the book.
While it's a shame the "Green Flame" arc was cut short (it concludes with "The End. For Now."), I'm not too heartbroken since the next four issues – which I'll call the Abby and Derrick arc – are superior. In "Heirs to the Thunder" (Issues 5-6), set concurrently with the movie, writers Tom and Mary Bierbaum introduce a pair of Jurassic Park geneticists -- the headstrong Abby and the along-for-the-ride Derrick – who get on the wrong side of a mad scientist. His genetically engineered "dinosaurs of hyperintelligence" -- including a "watchdog-sized triceratops" -- are an amusing parallel to the new dinosaur we'll see in "Jurassic World."
Issues 7-8 are among the most inconsequential "Jurassic Park" comics -- featuring a he-said, she-said between Abby and a soldier accusing each other of taking photos of the park – but also the most lighthearted fun. We see a bevy of dino species as Abby and Derrick return to the park during the time of the "Raptor" saga, when General West is supervising the clean-up.
"Return to Jurassic Park" wraps with Issue 9, "Jurassic Jam," which chronicles an earlier snafu in the park, this time caused by rats eating through cables (now THAT'S chaos theory). Like "Jurassic Park" Issue 0, we get a taste of Nedry's "woe is me" attitude, and we see an encounter that explains why Muldoon respects the T-rex. However, Muldoon's clocking of velociraptors' cross country meets remains unchronicled.
1995's "Jurassic Park" Annual likewise tells of a pre-movie mishap at the park, this one caused by an investor's daughter, whose pet ferret gets loose and causes dino stampedes. The annual's other yarn is darker, as Costa Rican bikers take on dilophosaurs that had reached the mainland when their eggs blew ashore. In a continuity oddity, writer Neil Barrett Jr. tells us "the dinosaurs are all gone now" from Isla Nublar. Most likely, he confused the movie/comics continuity – where the dinosaurs remain on the island, overseen by the U.S. military – with that of Crichton's novel, where the island is napalm-bombed.
Topps would go on to do the "Lost World" movie adaptation in 1997, but this batch marks the end of its original comics. As we leave the Topps Comics continuity, Muldoon is alive, Isla Nublar (now a Lost World of sorts) has been taken over by military types working on a secret project, a brood of velociraptors is loose in South America and one dilophosaurus is loose in Costa Rica. This puts the world in similar shape to the novel continuity, where compys and raptors ("Jurassic Park") and several big herbivorous dinosaurs ("The Lost World") are on the mainland, but in worse shape than the movie-only continuity, where there are no confirmed dinos on the mainland (although it's possible some raptors were on the boat hauling the T-rex in "The Lost World").
Jurassic ParkComic booksSun, 25 Jan 2015 02:02:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/1/25/Jurassic-Park-flashback-Topps-Comics-Return-to-Jurassic-Park-199596-and-1995-Annual‘Jurassic Park’ flashback: Topps Comics’ Issue 0 (1993) and ‘Raptor’ trilogy (1993-94)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/1/23/Jurassic-Park-flashback-Topps-Comics-Raptor-trilogy-199394
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After the success of the movie in June 1993, "Jurassic Park" fans didn't have to wait long for follow-up stories. Arguably, they had to wait awhile for GOOD stories, as the next novel and movie came out in 1995 and 1997, respectively. But Topps Comics – which also got the license for 1993's other pop-culture smash, "The X-Files" – quickly cranked out further "Jurassic Park" adventures.
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First up was a special Issue 0 (September 1993), penned by Walter Simonson and featuring cynical Gennaro and Nedry's first tours of the park. Gennaro is unimpressed, whereas Nedry realizes the value of the embryos. The best way to get this rare issue is in IDW's "Classic Jurassic Park" Volume 2. After Simonson's four-issue film adaptation came the first further adventures: The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park#Topps_Comics" target="_blank">"Raptor" trilogy</a> (1993-94), from the pen of Marvel veteran Steve Englehart. These 10 issues – "Raptor" (1-2), "Raptors Attack" (1-4) and "Raptors Hijack" (1-4) – were soon after reprinted for newsstands as "Jurassic Park Adventures" 1-10.
The "Raptor" trilogy reintroduces our heroes from the movie, the InGen-BioSyn rivalry, and the film's breakout dinosaur species. In shades of "Jurassic Park III," Englehart explores raptor communication and child rearing -- and even shows us the inner thoughts of the beasts.
Unfortunately, the characters become caricatures: Ellie is torn between Grant and Malcolm (she even desires romantic time with Grant AS THEY ARE HUNTING RAPTORS!), Malcolm mutters about chaos theory without saying anything new, and Muldoon inexplicably comes back from the grave to hunt down the three escaped raptors (named Alf, Betty and Celia) in South America. The plots are insane: A Columbian drug lord is ready with shock collars and an enclosure when he stumbles upon the raptors, a scientist who is training a gorilla uses sign language to successfully communicate with the raptors and keep them from killing her, and BioSyn assembles its version of Jurassic Park in the jungle by fencing in the raptors.
These ideas aren't bad in and of themselves, but the plots unfold illogically fast. The trailer for "Jurassic World" features Chris Pratt's character calmly riding his motorcycle with raptors on either side. But it's one thing for top scientists to figure out how to train and control raptors over the course of a decade, and quite another for a drug lord to do it in a matter of days, and on a whim.
Whereas the Costa Rica government napalm-bombs Isla Nublar at the end of Crichton's novel, we learn in "Raptor" Issue 1 that Jurassic Park remains in place in the movie/comic timeline. InGen's people are cleaning up the mess three days later, and the opening panels set the odd tone of the "Raptor" saga: Using shock prods and tranquilizer darts, InGen's men bring down the T-rex, but no one seems particularly shaken by the encounter. Even though Grant tells Ellie "I'll never get used to this," before long the duo purposely tromps into a raptor cave on the other side of the island armed only with a shotgun. No doubt Englehart was inspired by the end of Crichton's book, where Grant resolves to count the raptor eggs; in the comic, similarly, he wants to prove to the InGen people that there are raptors on the loose.
As the comics go forward, our heroes are increasingly blasé about facing off with raptors. After being kidnapped along with the raptors by BioSyn, Grant and Ellie even take up roles as the raptors' protectors, which is insane. While I like Englehart's idea of getting into the heads' of the raptors, it seems odd that the raptors would choose to not kill Ellie because she nursed Celia back to health or would leave Dr. Belvedere unscathed because she uses the sign for "peace." (And how would raptors know sign language, anyway?) Raptors are killing and eating machines, not creatures with a moral compass, and they're street smart, not book smart. Sure, if something's in it for them – like the return of their eggs in "Jurassic Park III" – they're smart enough to play along, but I doubt they have a sense of fair play. I do like their escape from BioSyn's makeshift park in "Raptors Hijack" though: They dig under the walls.
If the silliness of this series wasn't already obvious, it becomes clear in "Raptors Attack" Issue 2 when Muldoon returns:
Malcolm: "I thought you were dead!"
Muldoon: "Hell, the raptors tried, but I'd raised them -- I knew their hunting tricks!"
If that's not stupid enough, the drug lord soon uses his trained raptors as attack beasts against his political opponents in broad daylight.
Outstanding art might have salvaged these books, but – coming from a variety of artists -- it's mediocre and inconsistent. The best I can say is that I can always tell who's who and what's happening, but there's never a sense of mood. The covers by Michael Golden – loosely based on the inside action -- are pretty great, though.
By the end of the final issue of the "Raptor" trilogy, the chase is over, two adult raptors and several babies are loose in the Central American jungle, and we're back to a central concern of Crichton's books: Dinosaurs being loose on the mainland. While the four heroes aren't thrilled with the raptors' escape, they decide to give up not only the hunt, but also their scientific and moral principles, as they drink daiquiris in Venezuela:
Muldoon: "We'll never track them now, not in 10,000 square miles of jungle!"
Ellie: "Maybe it's just as well! They're dangerous, but so are tigers and cobras, and we don't cage all of them!"
Grant: "I agree! We've done our best – now I say let nature sort it out!"
While I have no doubt it's hard to translate "Jurassic Park's" mix of horror, wonder and adventure into this medium, there's no excuse for abandoning the main characters' core beliefs and tethers on reality. That final page is particularly ridiculous, but it sums up these "Raptor" comics all too well.
Jurassic ParkComic booksFri, 23 Jan 2015 03:20:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/1/23/Jurassic-Park-flashback-Topps-Comics-Raptor-trilogy-199394Movies, TV, books and comics I’m looking forward to in 2015http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/1/2/Movies-TV-books-and-comics-Im-looking-forward-to-in-2015
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Here are 10 movies, TV series, books and comics I'm looking forward to in 2015:
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3475734/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">"Marvel's Agent Carter"</a> (TV show, Jan. 6) – While I'm not a huge fan of the Marvel movie franchise, I have found some things to like about the sort-of-Joss-Whedon-produced "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." This eight-episode ABC prequel has my interest because I'm a sucker for shows set in various decades before I was born – in this case, the 1940s, when the titular agent navigates sexism and supervillains.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21437200-mr-kiss-and-tell" target="_blank">"Veronica Mars: Mr. Kiss and Tell"</a> (Book, Jan. 20) – Buzz about a whole series of Kickstarter-funded "Veronica Mars" films was hot and heavy ... right up until the first film came out. Then Rob Thomas seemed to turn his attention to "Play It Again, Dick" and "iZombie." But at least "Veronica" continues as a book series, which got off to a strong start with "The Thousand Dollar Tan Line" last year. Thomas and Jennifer Graham return as the co-authors of this second entry.
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<a href="http://www.idwpublishing.com/product/millennium-1/" target="_blank">"Millennium"</a> (Comic, Jan. 21) – A film would have been the best way to continue the story of Frank Black, who sees murders in his mind's eye and also works against the goals of the mysterious Millennium Group. But it's now clear that "Millennium" (nor "The X-Files," for that matter) won't continue on the screen. As such, this five-issue IDW comic series, continuing from Frank's guest turn in "The X-Files" Season 10 Issue 17, is better than nothing.
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3339966/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"</a> (TV show, March 31) – Back when "The Office" was limping to its finish, I felt it could've been enhanced with more storylines for scene-stealers Mindy Kaling and Ellie Kemper. Kaling now helms TV's best sitcom, "The Mindy Project," and Kemper seems perfectly cast in this Netflix series as a naïve 30-something entering the real world after spending her whole life in a cult.
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1964418/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">"Tomorrowland"</a> (Movie, May 22) – Co-written by "Lost's" Damon Lindelof and Entertainment Weekly's obsessive "Lost" analyst Jeff Jensen, "Tomorrowland" has some of that "What's it all about?" sci-vibe that M. Night Shyamalan – and, arguably, "Lost" -- used to do so well. This approach has mostly been abandoned in an age when previews give away everything. Plus, it'll be nice to see "Life Unexpected's" Britt Robertson jump to leading lady status on the big screen.
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369610/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">"Jurassic World"</a> (Movie, June 12) – Even if it's merely "Jurassic Park" on steroids, it'll be a fun thrill ride. I'm holding out hope it'll be a little deeper than that, perhaps with a commentary on the weaponization of dinosaurs. Chris Pratt should slide effortlessly into the role of the hero bemused by the reckless toying with nature going on around him. And the film's release is a perfect excuse for a string of "Jurassic Park" flashback posts on my blog.
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2637276/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">"Ted 2"</a> (Movie, June 26) – I still found the joke of a talking teddy bear amusing by the end of the first film, so I'm game to see what writer-director-voice-actor Seth MacFarlane has in store for the sequel.
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340138/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">"Terminator Genisys"</a> (Movie, July 1) – As with "Jurassic World," I'm holding out hope. It could be just a stupid shoot-'em-up between the good guys (an older Arnold robot and new actors playing Sarah and Kyle) and various liquid metal T-1000s. Or it could have something fresh to say about time travel and fate. At any rate, it's an excuse for a string of "Terminator" flashback posts on my blog.
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2802850/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">"Fargo" Season 2</a> (TV show, Fall) – Technically, this isn't a new series, but it kind of is, as FX's second "Fargo" miniseries will feature the general tone (cold, snow, Northern accents and a string of grisly murders) of the first season, but a new time and place – 1979 in Sioux Falls, S.D. And it'll be nice to see Kirsten Dunst in a major role after a long absence.
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2488496/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">"Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens"</a> (Movie, Dec. 18) – While I don't like that there are now two "Star Wars" timelines (Legends and Disney), it should be interesting to see director J.J. Abrams' take on the state of the galaxy and the main characters three decades after the events of "Return of the Jedi." From the teaser trailer, it looks like the battle between Rebellion and Empire is still going in some form. I'm also curious to know how much of George Lucas' story treatment was used by Abrams and co-screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. If the answer is "all of it," I might become more receptive to this alternate take on the GFFA.
What movies, TV series, books and comics are you looking forward to in the year ahead?
MoviesBooksTelevisionComic booksFri, 02 Jan 2015 00:03:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2015/1/2/Movies-TV-books-and-comics-Im-looking-forward-to-in-2015‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Force Unleashed II’ novel and comic (2010)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/12/29/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Force-Unleashed-II-novel-and-comic-2010
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Out of all the Legends stories that went unfinished due to Disney's rebooting of the timeline, none is more of a cliffhanger than the "Force Unleashed" saga. At the end of 2010's "The Force Unleashed II" – both the <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Force_Unleashed_II_%28novel%29" target="_blank">novel by Sean Williams</a> and <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Force_Unleashed_II_%28comic%29" target="_blank">comic by Haden Blackman</a> -- Darth Vader is captured by Starkiller and the Rebel Alliance and secured in the Rogue Shadow for transport to Dantooine. The Rebels aim to interrogate him and make a deal with the Emperor. But "The Force Unleashed III" never happened (and it's possible it wouldn't have happened even without Disney's purchase of the franchise in 2012), and we'll never know how the story was intended to go unless Blackman spills the beans someday.
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On the other hand, the "Force Unleashed" saga fits under the Legends banner quite well because the only way to reconcile these events with other "Star Wars" lore is to call them legends rather than historical facts. I can imagine Rebels, in the midst of dark days of fighting the Empire, sharing campfire stories about a ridiculously powerful Force wielder who gave birth to the Alliance, guided it to its first major victory by crashing Star Destroyers into the Kamino cloning facility and even defeated and captured Darth Vader.
Perhaps the Starkiller legend would get mixed up in the retellings with the facts of Luke Skywalker's saga, so that Starkiller also visits Yoda and the dark side cave on Dagobah and teams up with the heroic Wedge Antilles in the pilot's early days with the Alliance. Both of those things happen here – in the book's "jump the shark" moment, Starkiller hitches a ride on Wedge's Y-wing, mirroring Chewie's trick in the "Chewbacca" comic -- along with several other things that don't mesh with established lore.
In "The Force Unleashed II," Rebel Captain Juno Eclipse – who, as in the first installment, splits time as the main character with her love interest, Starkiller – helps the Alliance secure a relationship with Admiral Ackbar and the Mon Calamari, something that was already chronicled in the Goodwin/Williamson newspaper strips (specifically the story "Revenge of the Jedi") between Episodes IV and V. (It's interesting to note that Ackbar briefly encounters his old slave master, Tarkin, here. While it's been established in his backstory that Ackbar was once Tarkin's slave, I don't believe those events were ever chronicled in a story.)
Also, the Rebellion – in a military assault that seems too massive considering their ragtag attack on the Death Star a year or so later – completely wipes out the Kamino cloning facility, which at this point seems to have been nationalized by the Empire. This contradicts not only the Disney canon -- where it's made clear that stormtroopers are not clones -- but also the Legends canon -- which strongly implied that stormtroopers are not clones. The theory goes that clones were needed to secure Palpatine's emperorship, but it'd be too risky to keep them around afterward -- and besides, it's easier to maintain power than to secure power. As such, the Empire stopped producing clones and used enlistees and possibly conscripts in its army.
"TFU II" is a much more dramatic spin on the end of the clone trooper era, which is understandable considering that cloning is a central theme of both the book and comic. Unlike the first installment, where the comic and novel told identical stories, "TFU II" uses a "Shadows of the Empire" approach where the two media tell slightly different stories that cross over with each other: The book features Juno and Starkiller, whereas the comic features Boba Fett.
Boba Fett learns that a Kamino-based scientist (not a Kaminoan -- perhaps evidence of the Empire's nationalization of the industry) has been experimenting with Boba clones. The bounty hunter blasts all the clone tanks in similar fashion to Ripley in "Alien Resurrection." Starkiller's relationship to cloning (including the mystery of whether he is a clone) is less straightforward. In the first "Force Unleashed," Starkiller (seemingly) dies and is resurrected halfway through the story. Then at the end, he (seemingly) dies again and is resurrected for the sequel.
As I noted in my review of the first installment, Starkiller is an impossible contradiction, and that becomes even more pronounced in "TFU II." Starkiller can't have survived the battle at the end of the first book, because he is in perfect physical condition and he has no memory of the recovery period. At the same time, he can't be a clone because he retains all the emotions and feelings built up during his life – including his love for Juno. According to established "Star Wars" lore, a clone is a physical recreation of the original person; memories and experiences do not transfer. This is why the clone troopers – and Boba Fett -- look like Jango Fett but don't have his memories.
In my review of "TFU," I noted that the Emperor theoretically could transfer Starkiller's essence from a dying body to a living clone, as he does with Bevel Lemelisk in "Darksaber." This is the only in-universe logic that can explain Starkiller's resurrections. However, Blackman and Williams don't allude to this in any of their writings, and in fact, the Emperor doesn't appear in the sequel at all.
For all these reasons, the "Force Unleashed" saga – and especially the increasingly out-there sequel – plays best as a legend rather than as real events on any timeline, be it Legends or Disney's. While I'm curious to know what Blackman had sketched out for "TFU III" (How did Vader escape? How was Starkiller resurrected? Does Maris Brood return to the story?), I'm not as crushed by "TFU's" cancellation as I am by the cancelation of "The Clone Wars" TV show or the Ben-Vestara-Jaina-Allana story in the novels. While it's not a bad read, "The Force Unleashed II" becomes increasingly hard to take seriously as it goes along.
BooksStar WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 29 Dec 2014 01:16:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/12/29/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Force-Unleashed-II-novel-and-comic-2010‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Force Unleashed’ novel and comic (2008)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/12/24/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Force-Unleashed-novel-and-comic-2008
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"The Force Unleashed" (2008) – the multimedia project highlighted by a video game, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Force_Unleashed_%28novel%29" target="_blank">novel</a> and <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Force_Unleashed_%28comic%29" target="_blank">comic</a> -- despite being a fairly recent endeavor, is among the first Legends material to be wiped out by the new Disney canon (specifically "Rebels"). (It's also back in the spotlight because fans continually say "The Force Unleashed" instead of "The Force Awakens" when referring to the upcoming movie.) But its canonicity was always a bit confusing.
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The most notable aspect of the story is that it chronicles the formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Game and comic writer Haden Blackman and novelist Sean Williams stay true to the Corellian Treaty, first mentioned by Timothy Zahn in "Dark Force Rising," where Bail Organa (wealth), Mon Mothma (soldiers) and Garm Bel Iblis (fleet) combine their distinct areas of expertise into a formal military rebellion. Bail notes on page 296 of the paperback that "We've been working at cross-purposes for years now, waiting for that catalyst that would bring us together." (The catalyst is the main character of "The Force Unleashed," the Force-wielding Starkiller -- often called "the apprentice," and actually named Galen Marek.)
In a cool twist, "TFU" reveals that the Emperor (via Vader, and via Starkiller) forms the Alliance for the purpose of having all his enemies in one spot. Palpatine intends to kill Bail and his cohorts – "Your very public and painful executions will crush any dissent. Any hope of rebellion dies with you," the Emperor tells Bail. After Galen foils the plot and the Rebels escape, Palpatine briefly worries that "if even a single rebel survives, this alliance we have unwittingly created will be our undoing."
I think Blackman and Williams missed an opportunity here to explore the theory that "war is the health of the state" (first attributed to writer Randolph Bourne). The prequels show how Palpatine uses war to rise to power, so it might've been neat to see him use perpetual war to maintain his power. Williams at least throws in an additional line that explains why Palpatine backs off on his plan to wipe out the Rebellion's founders (after all, Bail is still an Imperial senator up until Alderaan's destruction, and Mon Mothma and Bel Iblis survive the entire war): "Patience, Lord Vader. Far better to destroy a man's hope first. Or that of someone close to him ..." (an allusion to Bail's daughter, Leia). (This strategy of playing on an individual's fears for their loved ones also explains the subjugation of the physically imposing Wookiees as slave labor in the construction of the Death Star, which is seen in the novel.)
While "TFU's" chronicle of the Alliance's formation doesn't necessarily contradict Matthew Stover's 2005 novelization of "Revenge of the Sith," where Bail, Mon Mothma and Bel Iblis (along with Padme and others) form a secret pact, it sure would've been nice if "The Force Unleashed" had mentioned this alliance from 18 years earlier, rather than implying that three completely separate rebellions "working at cross-purposes" were merging together for the first time. Of course, it's no fault of Blackman that he doesn't mention the Onderon rebels (strongly implied to be spiritual ancestors of the Alliance), as they weren't introduced until a 2012 arc on "The Clone Wars," or the Ghost crew, the titular "Rebels" from the animated series that started this fall.
"Rebels" also slightly contradicts Bail's claim to be merely the wealth behind the Alliance, as he is gathering and sharing intelligence with small rebel factions – notably Hera and her Ghost crew, of course – in the series, which takes place five years before "A New Hope" on the Disney timeline (whereas "The Force Unleashed" is two years before "ANH" on the Legends timeline). It's also interesting to note that the Rebel Alliance's Starbird symbol comes from Galen Marek's family in "The Force Unleashed," whereas "Rebels" features a slight variation on the symbol being painted as graffiti by Sabine Wren. This is the primary reason why Legends' "TFU" and Disney's "Rebels" can't be ret-conned with each other.
But as I noted, "TFU" had continuity oddities even before it became Legends. Notably, in the cliffhanger to Part 1 of the novel, Vader "kills" his apprentice by stabbing him through the stomach with a lightsaber then blowing him out into space. At the start of Part 2, Galen is physically and mentally fine (albeit psychologically scarred). Vader has apparently used Imperial technology to resurrect him (he says he needed the Emperor to believe Galen was dead, but really it was just Vader's latest step in forging the young man into a powerful dark-side weapon).
Four theories for Galen's resurrection come to mind, but none of them quite clicks:
1. Galen can't have been completely healed by Imperial technology after having his innards ripped up by a lightsaber and exposure to vacuum, because if the tech were truly that advanced, Vader himself would take advantage of it rather than using a cumbersome life-support suit. (Nonetheless, I believe this explanation is what Blackman intended.)
2. Galen can't have transferred his essence into a clone body, because the story is told from his point of view and we know he doesn't do that. The Emperor transfers his essence into a clone in "Dark Empire," but he is fully aware he's doing it.
3. Neither Vader nor the Emperor could've used the Force to keep Galen from dying, because neither has mastered that ability. Darths Tenebrous and Plagueis experimented with the art of keeping people from dying, but didn't master it. Darth Sidious used the concept as a lure to turn Vader to the dark side, and while he later kept himself from dying ("Dark Empire"), he couldn't perform the same trick for others. If Palpatine did restore Galen to perfect health off-page and off-panel, it should've made Vader angry that he didn't perform this same trick for himself or for Padme.
4. While it's not exactly the same as bringing someone back from death, the Emperor is able to transfer people's essences into a clone body using Sith alchemy, as he does with Death Star designer Bevel Lemelisk in flashback scenes in the novel "Darksaber." So he theoretically could've done this with Galen. Indeed, it is a more satisfying explanation than the catch-all "Imperial technology" that Blackman and Williams give us. But without any hint in the narrative of Palpatine performing this feat on Galen, it's probably not what the author intended.
Galen later (seemingly) dies in the story's finale, but then returns as the star of 2010's "The Force Unleashed II" (also a game-novel-comic trifecta). As such, his repeated mysterious resurrections are the unavoidable thematic thrust of that sequel. Another character who suggests Blackman intended a sequel is the Zabrak Jedi Padawan Maris Brood. When Galen kills her master, Shaak Ti, Maris embraces the powerful dark side energy of Felucia and turns evil; in a second encounter, Galen lets Brood go off into the jungles rather than killing her. (Despite this setup for future stories, and her popularity among fans, Maris doesn't appear in the sequel!)
Despite these dangling threads, Williams writes a smooth-flowing novel. I feared it would be too video-gamey, with endless action sequences. While there is some of that, Williams does a good job of portraying Galen: He has been trained in the dark side by Vader, but that's all he knows, and when exposed to the light side, he's intrigued by an option he didn't know existed (that's how I reconcile the relative ease of his turn from evil to good). His pilot, Juno Eclipse, goes through a similar arc: She has only known life with the Empire, but when branded a traitor by Vader (for under-explained reasons), she must forge a new life. I like how Williams builds the Galen-Juno romance without being heavy-handed; the same goes for the friendship between Galen and his droid, PROXY.
I'd recommend reading the comic after the novel, as it is told with the framing mechanism of Bail and Juno debriefing each other on the events of the novel, trying to assure themselves – for logistical and personal reasons -- that Galen was a good guy.
Ultimately, "The Force Unleashed" can't shake its origin as a video game where Starkiller blows away platoons of stormtroopers with the Force, guides a Star Destroyer to crash into an Imperial base and wields Force lightning as if he's firing a blaster. Those things are there because they look cool. But with that in mind, Blackman and Williams forge a surprisingly decent character drama with neat revelations (now contradicted) about the Alliance's formation.
BooksStar WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksWed, 24 Dec 2014 21:13:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/12/24/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Force-Unleashed-novel-and-comic-2008‘Rebel Heist’ tells stories of heroes from point of view of ‘regular guys’http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/20/Rebel-Heist-tells-stories-of-heroes-from-point-of-view-of-regular-guys
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One of the pleasures of the TV series "Rebels" is seeing a small Rebel cell do its thing within the growing Rebellion. Hera knows their contact, code-named Fulcrum (the obvious candidate is Bail Organa), but her underlings on the Ghost – including frustrated Sabine, who wants a bigger role – do not. This is so the information can't be tortured out of Sabine by the Empire.
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While "Rebels" takes place in the early days of the Rebellion, five years before "A New Hope," this method wherein every Rebel plays a small part in a bigger picture is useful throughout the Rebellion up until the point it becomes the New Republic. The four-issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Rebel_Heist" target="_blank">"Rebel Heist"</a> (now available in trade paperback) is a prime example of how the structure works, with Han, Leia, Chewbacca and Luke as the featured characters.
What sets "Rebel Heist" apart from other yarns in the packed portion of the timeline between Episodes IV and V is that it's told from the perspectives of three low-level Rebel operatives and one low-level Imperial operative. Writer Matt Kindt explores the four heroes from the perspectives of – as he put it -- "someone like me, a regular guy."
In Issue 1, nervous Jan is on his first mission, and realizes to his surprise that it's with the always-confident (much to Jan's befuddlement) Han Solo. In Issue 2, the Twi'lek Sarin sees Leia as a pampered princess, until she learns otherwise. In Issue 3, an ex-Imperial believes Chewie is just a dumb animal, until he sees him in action. And in Issue 4, a Bothan Imperial agent has Luke and the others dead to rights – but he's so impressed by their actions and ideals that he surrenders (and a final panel suggests he will go on to be one of the Rebels who acquires the Death Star II plans).
We find out on the final page that the Rebels' end goal is the acquisition of the shield generator to be used at the Hoth base, which is a neat tie-in to the wider saga. But the hook of "Rebel Heist" is the noir-style narration from the unsung folks who observe our heroes. The Leia story is particularly great, as the princess goes through various wardrobe changes on her "Alias"-style undercover mission.
Enhanced by solid art and a kinetic flow of panels from Marco Castiello, "Rebel Heist" shows that it takes a lot of brave individuals to form a successful Rebellion against an oppressive government, while also reminding us why the main characters are the main characters. This narration from Sarin sums it up: "Some of us are meant to toil anonymously, furthering the cause. ... But we all want the same thing. I could see it in (Leia's) eyes. She would die before she gave me up to the Imperials." As we'll probably see as "Rebels" moves forward, she learned it from her father.
Star WarsComic booksThu, 20 Nov 2014 00:55:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/20/Rebel-Heist-tells-stories-of-heroes-from-point-of-view-of-regular-guys‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Visionaries’ (2005)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/15/Star-Wars-flashback-Visionaries-2005
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After the hard work of providing conceptual art for "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," 11 artists got to cut loose with short stories or other works of their choosing for the trade paperback <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Visionaries" target="_blank">"Visionaries"</a> (2005), a brainchild of J.W. Rinzler (author of the "Making of" books) that came out right before the film's release.
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As with the "Tales" series, there was no requirement that these yarns be part of the canon. But while Lucasfilm didn't approve the stories for continuity purposes, it does own everything produced for "Star Wars" comics. (In that sense, the entire Expanded Universe is now conceptual art for Disney's take on the saga.) As such, one of these stories ended up being repurposed as a key piece of pre-production work for "The Clone Wars" TV series. Here are my rankings of the 11 contributions to "Visionaries."
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1. "Old Wounds" by Aaron McBride – In by far the most famous "Visionaries" tale, McBride gives us the first image of a resurrected Darth Maul with mechanical legs. The whole design, even Maul's longer horns that show his feral nature, was used pretty much verbatim in "The Clone Wars." Even McBride's story isn't that far off: Although we don't learn how Maul survived or got the legs, he is obsessed with killing Obi-Wan, same as the TV series. Here, though, he recovers prior to the Clone Wars period, and is seen stalking Kenobi at Kamino, Geonosis, Mustafar and Polis Massa before tracking him down on Tatooine.
2. "The Eyes of Revolution" by Warren Fu – For some reason, the Expanded Universe never gave us General Grievous' backstory in story form (it's reflected upon in "Labyrinth of Evil"), so this is as close as it gets. Dooku and Sidious get hold of a great Kaleesh warrior who is seriously wounded in battle, making him the perfect candidate for an experimental cyber-suit designed by San Hill of the Intergalactic Banking Clan. There's a nice synergy to the fact that Darth Plagueis, who was obsessed with conquering death, and San Hill are both of the Muun species.
3. "Entrenched" by Alex Jaeger and M. Zachary Sherman – In the tale of a Hoth rebel soldier, we get a peek "off-screen" during the Battle of Hoth, including the AT-ATs disembarking from the Star Destroyer outside shield range and an AT-ST attack on the ion cannon.
4 and 5. "Celestia Galactica Photographica" by Ryan Church and "Imperial Recruitment" by Feng Zhu – Church portrays sprawling scenes at various galactic ports while Zhu delivers recruitment posters featuring sexy Imperials that would fit in well with the era of TV's "Rebels."
6. "Prototypes" by Robert E. Barnes – Similar to the Grievous situation, here we get the origin story of the Separatists' nearly indestructible sentient/mechanical construct General Durge, a major villain of the "Clone Wars" microseries who never really caught on with fans.
7. "Deep Forest" by Sang Jun Lee – The Wookiees, who would prefer to stay out of the Clone Wars, mull overtures from the Separatists and the Republic. After a Separatist probe droid kills a young Wookiee, the decision for the Wookiee elders is easy.
8. "The Artist of Naboo" by Erik Tiemens – With just the hint of a story, the artist renders impressionist paintings of Padme's home planet.
9. "Sithisis" by Derek Thompson – The artist gives a horror-style take on Sidious' rise (or descent, depending on your point of view) to evil power.
10 and 11. "The Fourth Precept" by Stephan Martiniere and "Wat Tambor and the Quest for the Sacred Eye of the Albino Cyclops" by Michael Murnane – Martiniere's piece doesn't even seem connected to "Star Wars," and the title is the least weird part of Murnane's yarn. Seriously, the writers of the U.K. shorts collected in "Devilworlds" would think this is an odd tale.
How would you rank the 11 contributions in "Visionaries?"
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSat, 15 Nov 2014 02:08:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/15/Star-Wars-flashback-Visionaries-2005‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters’ and ‘Darth Maul: Death Sentence’ (2012)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/13/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-The-Sith-Hunters-and-Darth-Maul-Death-Sentence-2012
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While this year's "Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir" is a continuation of Maul's "Clone Wars" TV arc, taken directly from unproduced Season 6 scripts, Dark Horse Comics also released two Maul stories in 2012 that nicely filled in the gap between Seasons 4 and 5: <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Clone_Wars:_The_Sith_Hunters" target="_blank">"The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters,"</a> the ninth of the 11 "Clone Wars" digests nominally aimed at younger readers, and <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Maul%E2%80%94Death_Sentence" target="_blank">"Darth Maul: Death Sentence,"</a> a four-issue series.
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In the Season 4 finale, "Revenge," Maul seeks vengeance against Obi-Wan Kenobi for cutting him in half in "The Phantom Menace." In Season 5, Maul begins to play a longer game, seeking a base of allies and wealth so he can plan for revenge on both Obi-Wan and Darth Sidious from a position of power. As he tells his brother, Savage Opress, in "The Sith Hunters": "In a time of galactic war, history has shown there is an opportunity for smaller factions to accumulate great power and wealth without being noticed. ... There will be more than enough time to exact our vengeance, once we have the means to properly execute it."
In Season 5 up through the Season 6 "Son of Dathomir" comics, Maul enlists the help of Black Sun, the Pykes, the Hutts and the Mandalorians. "The Sith Hunters" and "Death Sentence" are his previous attempts to acquire wealth, though he's not aggressively seeking allies at this point.
The 76-page digest "The Sith Hunters," written by Henry Gilroy and Stephen Melching (veterans of the "Clone Wars" TV series), finds Obi-Wan dropping off temporary ally Asajj Ventress and then teaming with other Jedi on another mission to capture the Zabrak Nightbrothers. The highlights are two sequences that fill in plot holes from the TV series.
First, we see Maul falling into the Theed generator station shaft, then packaged into what is presumably a waste container that is loaded onto a drone ship. The narration is Obi-Wan speculating to a young Jedi about how Maul survived: "I believe Maul's rage was so powerful, and his knowledge of the dark side so great, he simply refused to die. But it is not impossible that 'other forces' contributed to Maul's survival." The visuals come from Maul's "dream terrors," as Opress puts it.
Second, we see Palpatine's reaction when Anakin tells him Maul survived. The chancellor is clearly shocked, and this should put to rest any suspicion that Sidious had a role in Maul's resurrection -- although it will be clear later in Season 5 when he attacks Maul. (The "other forces" Obi-Wan speaks of, if they played a role in Maul's survival at all, would presumably be Mother Talzin and the Nightsisters.) Over illustrations of Maul landing on the garbage planet Lotho Minor, being saved by the snake creature and making his spider body, Anakin correctly theorizes to Palpatine about Maul's next step: "I think (Maul's quest for revenge against Obi-Wan) is only the beginning. As soon as he's able, he'll seek out what all Sith seek – fame, fortune and power."
"Death Sentence," written by Tom Taylor, finds Obi-Wan and a team of Jedi we've mostly never seen before on a two-pronged mission: To continue their search for Maul and Opress and also investigate mining magnate Ja'Boag, a financial ally of the Republic who might be committing atrocities against the people of the mining planet Moorjhone. A local prophet believes that a "demon in the light" will save them, and the Moorjhoni think Maul is that demon. It's actually the good Jedi, Master Judd, a blue-skinned Trandoshan. (For eagle-eyed readers, the young Jedi Dray will appear again as an old man in Taylor's "Invasion" comics.)
Continuing to show Maul's instability from late Season 4, when Maul is saved from the blazing-hot desert by the cave-dwelling Moorjhoni, he is haunted by a nightmare not only of Obi-Wan but also of his own spider-legged self. In a cool moment that illustrates Opress' wild rage, he slices open a carbonite canister that a Jedi throws at him and gets frozen in a carbonite block, mid-lightsaber swing. Of course, Maul later rescues his rage-aholic brother, setting the stage for Season 5.
While these two Darth Maul stories aren't as crucial to the continuity as "Son of Dathomir," they are remarkably substantial: They show Maul's transition from nearly insane anger to a more thought-out plan, Sidious' reaction to hearing that Maul is alive, and a depiction of Maul's transition from his seeming death on Naboo to his arrival on Lotho Minor.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksThu, 13 Nov 2014 02:46:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/13/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Clone-Wars-The-Sith-Hunters-and-Darth-Maul-Death-Sentence-2012Darth Maul’s ‘Clone Wars’ storyline continues in ‘Son of Dathomir’http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/12/Darth-Mauls-Clone-Wars-storyline-continues-in-Son-of-Dathomir
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<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Darth_Maul%E2%80%94Son_of_Dathomir" target="_blank">"Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir,"</a> a four-issue comic series now available in trade paperback, is both very cool and kind of disappointing. It's the first continuation of "The Clone Wars" outside of the canceled-too-soon TV series, but it also screams to be seen on TV.
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Much like TV's last Maul arc, a four-parter in Season 5, "Son of Dathomir" (originally intended to be the Season 6 episodes "The Enemy of My Enemy," "A Tale of Two Apprentices," "Proxy War" and "Showdown on Dathomir") is an action-oriented epic that brings together several pieces on the game boards of both Sidious (Dooku and Grievous) and Maul (his Mandalorian, Black Sun and Pyke allies). The Jedi mostly sit this one out, preferring to scratch their chins and wonder if Dooku and Maul are perhaps the two Sith lords. Obi-Wan, Mace Windu and Aayla Secura dip into the Maul-and-Dooku intrigue just long enough for Dooku to slaughter Tiplee from the "Clone Wars" Season 6 episode "The Unknown."
When we last saw Maul in "The Lawless," Sidious was attacking him with Force lightning. Here, we learn that Sidious did not kill him, but locked him up, using him as bait to draw out Dathomir Nightsister leader Mother Talzin (more on that in a bit).
When watching the Season 5 episodes, I assumed that Sidious wanted Maul dead because he had replaced him with Dooku and now sees the surprisingly alive Maul as a complication – similar to Sidious ordering Dooku to kill Asajj Ventress. Sidious is orchestrating the Separatist versus Republic war, and he can do without the wild-card factor of Maul's Shadow Collective. After Sidious breaks up the Shadow Collective, he tells Dooku: "This was a difficult piece to maneuver, but now it is in place. Maul's future has been erased, while ours is more certain than it has ever been."
Interestingly, "Son of Dathomir" (adapted by Jeremy Barlow from the TV scripts by Aida Mashaka Croal and Matt Michnovetz) adds another motivation for Sidious that arguably contradicts previous lore. James Luceno's novel "Darth Plagueis" chronicled the infant Darth Maul being given to Darth Sidious as a gift by his mother, who sought to protect Maul from Mother Talzin, who knew of Maul's brother Savage Opress, but not Maul (see page 183 of the hardcover). Why the mother viewed Talzin as a threat to her sons, beyond the fact that males are used as servants in Nightsister culture, is unclear. Then in the comic digest "The Sith Hunters" (2012), Savage Opress tells Maul: "Mother Talzin said this 'Shadow' (Sidious) came to Dathomir to purchase you."
"Son of Dathomir" tells us that Maul is the son of Talzin herself. Throughout Maul's "Clone Wars" arc, she has indeed shown love for him, most notably by giving him magic-enhanced mechanical legs, which is no small thing -- "Mother sacrificed much of her own form to resurrect me," Maul notes.
This comic reveals a rivalry between Sidious and Talzin, and claims that Talzin herself gave up Maul as a gift. Sidious tells Dooku: "My history with the Dathomir witches goes back further than you know. Maul came to me as a child – a not-so-appreciated gift from Mother Talzin. Her spite for me runs deep." Talzin, however, claims that Sidious stole Maul. As she tells Dooku: "Long ago, Sidious came to me on Dathomir. We exchanged secret wisdom, mingled dark side abilities with Nightsister magicks. He promised to make me his right hand, but instead stole what was most dear to me: My own flesh and blood. My son!"
That convoluted backstory is the set-up for a final-act showdown between Sidious and Talzin, which plays out fine in comic pages, albeit a bit like the Voldemort versus Harry wand battles in "Harry Potter." But I can't help but think how much cooler it would've been as a fully produced episode backed by Kevin Kiner's score.
Still, "Son of Dathomir" falls firmly into the "better than nothing" category, along with the unfinished "Crystal Crisis on Utapau" arc on StarWars.com and the 2015 Christie Golden novel "Dark Disciple," which will feature Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos. Collectively, these tales based on unfinished "Clone Wars" episodes are categorized as <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Clone_Wars_Legacy" target="_blank">"Clone Wars Legacy"</a> stories. Seeing as how Maul is merely beaten, but not killed, at the end of "Son of Dathomir," perhaps his legacy will continue further still.
Star WarsComic booksWed, 12 Nov 2014 23:18:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/12/Darth-Mauls-Clone-Wars-storyline-continues-in-Son-of-Dathomir‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Sergio Aragones Stomps Star Wars’ (2000)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/7/Star-Wars-flashback-Sergio-Aragones-Stomps-Star-Wars-2000
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<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sergio_Aragon%C3%A9s_Stomps_Star_Wars" target="_blank">"Sergio Aragones Stomps Star Wars"</a> (2000) is one of those comics that inspires mixed feelings: On one hand, with all the unexplored corners of the actual lore, why is Dark Horse spending time on a parody comic? On the other hand, I did read the comic (as it's in "Wild Space" Volume 2, which I recently picked up in order to get "Podracing Tales"), and it's harmless fun.
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"Stomps" is not in the same league as "Tag & Bink," and it's initially off-putting that it doesn't parody the "Star Wars" films specifically, but rather George Lucas' vast filmmaking empire. The main characters are the comic creators themselves: Spanish cartoonist/writer Sergio Aragones (a MAD Magazine legend) and co-writer Mark Evanier, who are getting a tour of Lucasfilm from Lucy Wilson.
(As an interesting side note, Aragones' connection to "Star Wars" dates back to 1978. Writer Roy Thomas named the villain of Marvel Issues 8-10 Serji-X Arrogantus, obviously a play on the cartoonist's name. Artist Howard Chaykin also based the character's look on Aragones.)
Because the writers are self-deprecating every step of the way, it blunts the egotism of making themselves the main characters. "Stomp's" Aragones is a tech laggard to the same extreme that Lucas is a tech pioneer. Speaking in broken English, he expresses his love of "Star Wars" in a childlike way, and watching "The Empire Strikes Back" on a VHS rental is good enough for him – things like digital transfers are just so much techno-babble. Evanier, for his part, tries to get Aragones to not touch anything during the tour.
The villain of the piece is an amateur director named Grudge, who aims to sabotage the "Star Wars" films so people will notice his movies instead. In "Stomp's" initial bit of magic realism, Aragones gets sucked into the classic trilogy, which the picture and sound technicians are transferring to digital. As an X-wing pilot, Aragones awkwardly expresses his love for Princess Leia, inspiring her to think "I never thought I'd be rooting for the Death Star." He then gets transferred to other parts of the trilogy by the video technicians.
With all the background details in each panel, "Stomps" gives an excellent flavor of the hopping Lucasfilm studios during the heyday of the prequels and the original trilogy's shift from film and videotape to digital (it debuted on DVD in 2004, which was relatively late in the game by most fans' estimation). While I initially greeted this one-shot with a scoff, it reads today like a sweet love letter to Lucasfilm circa 2000.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksFri, 07 Nov 2014 00:52:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/7/Star-Wars-flashback-Sergio-Aragones-Stomps-Star-Wars-2000‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Podracing Tales’ (2000)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/6/Star-Wars-flashback-Podracing-Tales-2000
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Although we never got a "Tales of the Podracers" anthology of short stories in the vein of "Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina," "Tales of the Bounty Hunters" and "Tales from Jabba's Palace," we got the next-best thing: <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Podracing_Tales" target="_blank">"Podracing Tales,"</a> a collection of webcomics published on StarWars.com in 2000.
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Unlike most "Star Wars" webcomics, "Podracing Tales" was salvaged in print, in 2013's "Wild Space" Volume 2 omnibus. The only other webcomics to see print were the "Old Republic" series (in the "Old Republic" TPBs Volumes 2 and 3) and the first season of the "Clone Wars" webcomics (in the limited-edition "Tales from the Clone Wars" TPB).
Ryder Windham's story, which comprises 27 printed pages, is a serial that wanders among key figures in "Episode I's" Boonta Eve Classic. It ranges from before that race – starting with Jabba and Gardulla arguing about who to bet on, and trying to trick each other -- through the race, and up to just before the Malastare podrace in "Republic's" "Emissaries to Malastare" arc (where Sebulba is flying Anakin's podracer, which he purchases here).
It dips into the behind-the-scenes shenanigans of the world of podracing, not concerning itself with the actual racing. While reading "Podracing Tales," for a moment I understood the appeal of the soap-opera world of professional motorsports.
Similar to the aforementioned "Tales" short stories, "Podracing Tales" puts new spins on plot points from "The Phantom Menace" that we took for granted, via all the various betting and race-fixing going on. For example, Ben Quadinaros takes a bet that he will be brave enough to enter the race. And Ark "Bumpy" Roose is paid to sabotage Anakin's podracer, but he mistakenly sabotages Quadinaros', thus explaining the blown power coupling at the start of the race.
Watto's various bets with Graxol while the race is going on are amusing: In addition to betting heavily on Sebulba, he makes side bets that Sebulba will set a personal record and that Anakin won't finish the race. Wupuiupi (money) flies around throughout these panels, with Weazel (Warwick Davis' character) trying to get in on the action, too.
With colorful art by Ken Steacy, Glen Mullaly and Andrew Pratt, "Podracing Tales" fills in the gaps like those "Tales" short stories, peppers in some silliness that flirts with the "Tag & Bink" style, and adds moments of flat-out slapstick, such as Bumpy accidentally drinking cleaning fluid.
"Podracing Tales" is among the most effortlessly fun work from the hit-and-miss resume of Windham, and I'm glad "Wild Space" Volume 2 rescued it from the sands of defunct web pages.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksThu, 06 Nov 2014 00:38:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/6/Star-Wars-flashback-Podracing-Tales-2000Dark Horse’s ‘The Star Wars’ gives fascinating insight into Lucas’ writing processhttp://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/5/Dark-Horses-The-Star-Wars-gives-fascinating-insight-into-Lucas-writing-process
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When I first heard Dark Horse was doing an adaptation of George Lucas' May 1974 rough draft of "A New Hope," I had two reactions: 1) How cool!, and 2) In retrospect, how obvious! Laurent Bouzereau gave insights into the various drafts of the original trilogy in his 1997 gem "Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays," and J.W. Rinzler went a step further by providing chunks of the scripts in his comprehensive "Making of" books for "A New Hope" (2007), "The Empire Strikes Back" (2010) and "Return of the Jedi" (2013).
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But the eight-issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Star_Wars" target="_blank">"The Star Wars"</a> (2013-14), plus an Issue 0 that's a handbook of characters and locations, brings the rough draft to vibrant life. (It's available in trade paperback now, with the hardcover version also including Issue 0.) It makes sense to do this as a comic book – adapted by Rinzler, with movie-like art by Mike Mayhew, based on early concept designs by Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston and Colin Cantwell -- because a movie would be too expensive and a published script would be too bland.
Of course, because it's a rough draft, it wasn't ready-made for a comic adaptation, so Rinzler adds and subtracts dialogue here and there for the sake of clarity. But mostly, fitting with the historical purpose of the project, he leaves the flaws and oddities in place. For example, an Aquilae snubfighter pilot is named Chewie, and later in the story, we meet the Wookiee Chewbacca, nicknamed "Chewie."
The first thing that jumps out is that Lucas thinks in terms of action sequences first, and considers plot, character and theme as secondary concerns. Many familiar sequences are in the rough draft, but the overall plot does not link together in a tight filmic structure. Still, it's remarkable how many of these sequences could be copied and pasted into the more fully formed scripts, so obviously there was something to all of this from the beginning.
In "The Star Wars," a fan will recognize the following sequences, in chronological order:
• Freedom fighters on Aquilae (which essentially became Alderaan and/or Naboo) fly snub fighters against an Imperial space station (later the Death Star), like the end of "A New Hope," but with less of a strategy. Later in the story, a rebel force primarily comprised of Wookiees does the same thing.
• The Empire's invasion of Aquilae via its space fortress is similar to the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo via its droid control ships in "The Phantom Menace."
• Annikin Starkiller goes off to retrieve Princess Leia from her university, and their journey back to the Aquilae underground bunker is reminiscent of Anakin and Padme going into hiding in "Attack of the Clones." Later, another undercover journey is even more similar to "Episode II," as Queen Breha asks Luke Skywalker to take Princess Leia and Leia's two younger brothers to Ophuchi, where "they will be safe." Unlike with the Naboo journey, the group never arrives at Ophuchi, although Lucas teases "The Saga of the Ophuchi!" in the closing crawl of the rough draft.
• R2-D2 and C-3PO, initially Imperial droids, take an escape pod out of the battle station to the Jundland Wastes of Aquilae. They exchange some of the "A New Hope" bickering, then are picked up by "a transport" -- Annikin and Leia in a landspeeder.
• At a cantina in the Aquilae spaceport Gordon (think Mos Eisley), Skywalker cuts down the aliens who threaten him, a la Obi-Wan in "A New Hope." Then our heroes meet Han Solo and other trusted allies of Skywalker and Kane Starkiller.
• In Gordon, the Imperials torture folks right out in the open by blasting electricity through them. This concept made it into the finished films in a number of ways, the first of which is the smoldering corpses of Luke's surrogate parents. We might presume scenes like this happened off-screen on Naboo in "The Phantom Menace," but by 1999, Lucas was fully in "'Star Wars' is for kids" mode, and didn't have concentration-camp torture scenes in any drafts.
• The now-quite-large group of rebels fights through the Imperial spaceport on Gordon to get to an available ship (which looks like a Rebel Blockade Runner and was McQuarrie's first design for the Millennium Falcon, although that name isn't used here). This sequence is reminiscent of the Death Star escape, as is the later sequence on the battle station where Annikin and Valorum rescue Princess Leia.
• Leia's kid brothers, who have Jedi potential, are put in carbon-freeze canisters for transport (so the adults don't have to put up with their whining, I'm guessing). This, of course, is similar to Han being carbon-frozen in "Empire."
• While flying away from Aquilae, the rebels' ship is attacked by TIE fighters much like the "Here They Come" sequence in "A New Hope." Annikin is blasted out of his gunnery turret, and R2 reels him back in. Leia notes that Annikin "almost suffocated," but he is in remarkably good shape for spending several seconds in vacuum without a spacesuit.
• Up next, the rebels fly through an asteroid field, similar to "The Empire Strikes Back." An asteroid breach forces them to take escape pods down to the nearest planet, Yavin (which would become Endor and/or the version of Kashyyyk outside of "Episode III").
• In the woods of Yavin, the rebels encounter slavers (who look like Boba Fett and Bossk) and Wookiee slaves. Our heroes rescue the Wookiees, who become their allies, as do human settlers Owen and Beru Lars.
• Darth Vader tortures Princess Leia (who was nabbed by Imperials on Yavin) on the space fortress, similar to "A New Hope" and the torture of Han in "Empire." But here, Vader aims to "crush (her) spirit" rather than obtain information.
• Annikin, Valorum and Leia jump into a garbage chute as part of their escape from the space fortress.
• In a closing ceremony, Chewbacca, Skywalker and Annikin (the new "lord protector" of Aquilae) receive medals from Princess Leia.
In the rough draft, the characters and their motivations are often shallow. Lucas knows the broad role and purpose of each character, but struggles to get into their heads and understand them. Most of the characters are quite different from what they would become:
• General Luke Skywalker is a cross between Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Dodonna. He's a big-picture guy: Ordering people around and inspiring them, but not doing so much as taking the controls of a ship.
• Annikin Starkiller is brash and headstrong – and he awkwardly but successfully romances the princess -- but there's not much hint that he's in danger of turning to the dark side.
• Annikin's dad, Kane Starkiller – like the future Darth Vader and General Grievous -- is a cyborg, who notes "There is nothing left of me but my head and right arm!" Because of this, he wants Skywalker to take over Annikin's Jedi training from him. There's a vague suggestion that being a cyborg is making Kane less human and more evil.
• Princess Leia doesn't take crap from any of the guys, but she's more of a traditional damsel in distress here, as she rarely picks up a gun and joins the fray.
• Windy and Biggs are Leia's little brothers. They have Force potential, and therefore must be protected for the sake of the galaxy's future, similar to the concept of Qui-Gon finding Anakin and bringing him to the Temple for training in "The Phantom Menace."
• When R2-D2 and C-3PO banter, they land jabs at each other in equal measure. 3PO is no pushover. Also, R2 speaks Basic here rather than using beeps and whistles, and he's smaller, closer in size to "Rebels' " Chopper than the films' R2-D2, which of course had to accommodate Kenny Baker.
• Han Solo is a green reptilian alien who is sympathetic to the Rebellion from the get-go. He understands the Wookiee language, but Chewbacca is not his sidekick here. They meet for the first time on this adventure.
• The characters who look like Boba Fett and Bossk are slavers rather than bounty hunters.
• Owen and Beru Lars are settlers in the forest of Yavin rather than Tatooine moisture farmers.
• Chewbacca and the other Wookiees on Yavin are initially primitives, closer to the Ewoks of the finished trilogy or the Yuzzems in Alan Dean Foster's novel "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" (which, as recent transcripts in Star Wars Insider revealed, had surprisingly substantial input from Lucas). However, Skywalker and Han Solo teach the Wookiees to fly ships, and they quickly become adequate to that task.
• Prince Valorum is a Sith who often wears an optional breath mask in the style of what would become Vader's helmet, but he helps Annikin and Leia escape the space fortress because he believes the Empire is a threat to both the Sith and the Jedi.
• Darth Vader is an evil Imperial leader with one bionic eye who sometimes dons the head-covering portion of the famous helmet. But he has no family connection to our heroes and he's not a Force user.
Thematically, the rebellion versus the Empire is in place from this earliest draft. The Empire is a collection of evil acts – such as the torturing of citizenry via electrocution – and the Rebellion is the charismatic Luke Skywalker and a hodgepodge of beings he knows he can trust.
The closing crawl of "The Star Wars" tells us the rebels' successful destruction of the space fortress gives citizens "a new sense of liberty, not felt for 100 years." In the finished films, liberty had been dormant for 20 years before the Rebel Alliance destroys the Death Star. The century without liberty as an openly discussed concept explains why Aquilae's rulers initially intend to bow down to the Empire's might without a fight. Skywalker can't attack the battle station until he gets the "war codes" from Aquilae's rulers. And after Skywalker and Aquilae's military loses that battle, the planet's rulers intend to succumb to the Empire's "peace." But Skywalker vows "This war is just beginning," and he'll lead it, "even if it's treason!"
Indeed, "The Star Wars" is about efforts to form an organized rebellion, not just win the first major victory for the rebellion, although it ultimately accomplishes both. Skywalker does have some allies already in place, but he doesn't get in touch with them until after the military defeat against the space fortress and the Empire's takeover of Aquilae. The members of that loose rebel cell in the spaceport of Gordon, loosely led by Han Solo, say their efforts against the Empire "have been minimal."
The Empire's occupation of Aquilae specifically inspires them into more direct action, as they aim to restore the kingdom. While Lucas' controversial portrayal of kingdoms as places where liberty can thrive still very much exists in the saga (note the titles of Princess Leia and Queen Amidala), it is more prominent in "The Star Wars," something that Mayhew emphasizes with regal trappings similar to what we would later see on Naboo in the films.
In the rough draft, the light side vs. dark side concept is in place, but only superficially, as many scenes end with "May the Force of Others be with you!" We know Luke and Kane Starkiller are Jedi Bendu (and that Annikin, Deak and Windy have the potential to be), and that Prince Valorum is a Sith, and that they all favor using lightsabers (then again, so do the stormtroopers!). But we don't see many specifics such as mind tricks or using the Force to accomplish an improbable task.
The idea of Jedi and Sith as rival sects of Force users is present in muted form. Annikin and Sith Prince Valorum have a brief lightsaber duel, although it's staged in order for Valorum to spring Annikin from his stormtrooper guards. When Annikin says he wants to rescue Leia because he loves her, Valorum says, "Love!? Now I remember why our clans have fought for a thousand years!" This suggests that in "The Star Wars," love is a Jedi value, but not a Sith value.
"The Star Wars" is thin on themes and character arcs (and humor, for that matter – there's nary an intentional chuckle to be found), but overwritten in other ways.
It has too many characters. There's no dominant villain, but rather a batch of them including Sith Prince Valorum, Imperial General Darth Vader and Governor Hoedaack (who would become Tarkin). It's almost funny to see two landspeeders full of heroes traveling through the desert to Gordon. At the same time, these characters aren't fodder for Imperial guns. Only Cleig Whitsun ends up biting the dust (manually launching the escape pod holding Leia and Annikin from their doomed ship above Yavin), which is interesting considering how many characters are killed off in the finished films.
In terms of plot, the rough draft is overblown, as it includes two space attacks on the fortress and two sequences of heroes fighting their way through an Imperial station (Gordon and the space fortress). Lucas famously acknowledged that he had three movies after his rough draft and had to pare it back to one for "A New Hope," while setting aside the other two-thirds of the rough draft for sequels.
"The Star Wars" clears up any confusion that those other two films' worth of material became "Empire" and "Jedi." Granted, there is a second Death Star battle in "Jedi," and those prototypical Wookiees – now Ewoks – are peripherally involved. But most of "Empire" and "Jedi" naturally grew from the final draft of "A New Hope," not the rough draft. As we already knew from Bouzereau's and Rinzler's books, Lucas went through a similar struggle writing those movies, again having to discard many sequences and simplify some big ideas. Still, he never truly discarded anything. Just as the Wookiee-oriented second Death Star battle moved from "A New Hope" to "Return of the Jedi," the lava planet moved from "Jedi" to "Revenge of the Sith."
Lucas process of visualizing sequences and scenes before fully understanding the plot and character motivations can also be seen in the prequels. Compared to the original trilogy, this flaw is more present in the finished films because he largely wrote them himself. The shooting scripts for "Empire" and "Jedi" were collaborations with Lawrence Kasdan, Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand. But on the prequels, Lucas only worked with one outside writer -- Jonathan Hales helped Lucas with the third draft of "Attack of the Clones" – and directed the films himself.
In "Attack of the Clones," Obi-Wan's investigation of Kamino and the Republic's clone-trooper purchase seems like it was borne out of Lucas dreaming up big ideas (rain-drenched Kamino as a setting for a noir mystery) more so than understanding how the plot would fit together. The same goes for the Anakin-Padme romance – which is only slightly less shallow than the Annikin-Leia romance in "The Star Wars" -- and Anakin's fall to dark side in "Revenge of the Sith." I imagine Lucas envisioned the iconography of Anakin bowing down before Palpatine and gave less thought to the character motivations that brought him to that point.
So yeah, Lucas' approach to writing has its technical flaws. But we've always known that his childlike imagination is his biggest contribution. When it's paired with a great team who he's willing to work with, like on "Empire" and "Jedi" and "The Clone Wars" TV series, we get "Star Wars" in its most perfect form. (Of course, "A New Hope" is pretty perfect too, and he wrote and directed that himself. I chalk it up to a bit of divine magic.)
"The Star Wars" presents Lucas' imagination in its raw, unfettered state, and I applaud him for allowing us into that flawed and beautiful world via Rinzler and Mayhew.
Star WarsComic booksWed, 05 Nov 2014 05:14:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/5/Dark-Horses-The-Star-Wars-gives-fascinating-insight-into-Lucas-writing-process‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Heart of Fire’ (2001) and ‘Poison Moon’ (2002)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/3/Star-Wars-flashback-Heart-of-Fire-2001-and-Poison-Moon-2002
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Sometimes it seems like no matter how many "Star Wars" stories I read, I'm missing something. Part of this is because there are many unexplored areas of lore in the Legends timeline, but part of it is because some plot and character points were chronicled off the beaten path.
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A prime example is the young Twi'lek Jedi Xiann Amersu in the "Republic" comics. Although I read every issue, including the "Jedi" spinoff series, I felt like Xiann was suddenly thrown into the mix as someone who is inexplicably close to main characters Aayla Secura and Quinlan Vos. After being an unnamed orphaned Padawan in "The Hunt for Aurra Sing," she pops up again in the "Aayla" issue of "Jedi" and "Republic's" "Siege at Saleucami" (Issues 74-77) arc, where she nobly sacrifices herself in a space battle.
But it turns out Xiann does have an introductory story; you just have to hunt for it. It's in <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Heart_of_Fire_%28comic%29" target="_blank">"Heart of Fire"</a> (2001), a four-page comic serialized in "Dark Horse Extra" Issues 35-37 and collected in the "Menace Revealed" omnibus (2009). (You can find the omnibus for much cheaper than the "Extra" issues.)
John Ostrander's story is set between "Republic's" "Twilight" and "Darkness" arcs, when Aayla is off flirting with the dark side. The titular gem symbolizes a bond between giver and receiver; Quin had given it to Aayla, Aayla gave it to Xiann, and now Xiann gives it to Quin. Further making a reader feel out of the loop, Quin recounts adventures with Aayla that we never saw portrayed. But in explaining that Xiann looks up to Aayla as a positive Twi'lek female role model, "Heart of Fire" brings the young Jedi more fully into the saga.
The other "Dark Horse Extra" four-pager from the Episode I-to-II era, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Poison_Moon" target="_blank">"Poison Moon"</a> (2002), is less important to the overall narrative, but it's weirdly notable for being the only original Anakin-and-Obi-Wan comic in that time period. ("Jedi Quest" is an adaptation of a young-adult novel.) Originally published in "Extra" Issues 44-47 and later collected in "Menace Revealed," "Poison Moon" is Michael Carriglitto's only "Star Wars" writing credit.
The story finds the duo investigating a crashed ship on an asteroid. Jedi Alysun Celz claims to be transporting Dark Jedi Et Rex to Coruscant to face trial, but in reality, she's the Dark Jedi and Et Rex is innocent. The adventure allows Obi-Wan to remind his Padawan that appearances can be deceiving.
Because "Menace Revealed" – which also includes four other oddball comics, <a href=" http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/28/Star-Wars-flashback-Hasbro-comics-2002-Brothers-in-Arms-2005-and-Routine-Valor-2006" target="_blank">the Hasbro "Attack of the Clones" tie-ins</a> -- can be found fairly cheaply, you might want to pick it up in order to get these oddities and then sell your redundant comics to make some of the money back.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksMon, 03 Nov 2014 00:10:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/11/3/Star-Wars-flashback-Heart-of-Fire-2001-and-Poison-Moon-2002‘Star Wars’ flashback: Star Wars Kids comics (1997-99), ‘Battle of the Bounty Hunters’ (1996), etc.http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/31/Star-Wars-flashback-Star-Wars-Kids-comics-199799-Battle-of-the-Bounty-Hunters-1996-etc
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Disney's cancellation of the Expanded Universe earlier this year marked the first complete reboot of "Star Wars" lore, but there had been plenty of disagreements about canon among various media throughout the years. In 1997, with the release of the Special Editions in theaters, Lucasfilm aimed to draw a new generation of fans through <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Kids_%28magazine%29" target="_blank">Star Wars Kids magazine</a> (1997-99). In the serialized comics that ran in each issue, the writers rebooted the timeframe between Episodes IV and V, at least for the purposes of these stories.
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Most adult fans didn't notice until the comics were reprinted: "Death Star Pirates" in "Star Wars Tales" Issue 8 (2001), and the other four – "The Rebel Thief," "X-Wing Marks the Spot," "Imperial Spy" and "The Gambler's Quest" – in <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Omnibus:_Wild_Space_Volume_1" target="_blank">"Wild Space" Volume 1</a> (2013). While none of these yarns are essential by any means, they feature vibrantly colored art, our heroes are mostly in character (except that Leia is extremely hard on Han, always assuming the worst of him), and they have a curiosity value similar to that of the old newspaper strips. Indeed, the quality of the Star Wars Kids comics is at about Russ Manning level.
Here are some of the reimagined and/or surprising plot points:
• In Ryder Windham's "The Rebel Thief," we learn that Han returned his reward money to the Alliance. In the Marvel comics, he has the reward money stolen by the pirate Crimson Jack. This was later referenced in Timothy Zahn's novel "Scoundrels."
• Later in the story, using treasure found in a Massassi temple, Han pays off Jabba the Hutt through an intermediary. Jabba says it's too late. In the Marvel comics, Jabba clears the debt when Han helps him, then reinstates it just before "Empire" (so the comics could square up with that movie, where Han is still hoping to pay off Jabba).
• In Mike W. Barr's "X-Wing Marks the Spot," the Alliance aims to acquire more X-Wings, and they do so from an undercover source. Arguably, this ties in nicely with the Rebellion's need for astromech droids in "Darklighter." One thing that is inexcusable, though, is having a T-16 skyhopper flying in outer space.
• In Barr's "Imperial Spy," our heroes depart the Yavin base just before Darth Vader arrives on the suggestion of an Imperial spy. In the Goodwin/Williamson newspaper strips, the Imperials blow up the base, presumably killing General Dodonna (we learn in "Dark Empire" and the "X-Wing" books that he was actually imprisoned) as the Rebel fleet narrowly escapes.
• Likewise, Henry Gilroy's "Death Star Pirates" contradicts all other departure-from-Yavin yarns as it finds the Falcon and Luke's X-wing ambushed by pirates among the Death Star debris. Luke loses his X-wing in the skirmish, so I guess it's a good thing they got new ones in "X-Wing Marks the Spot."
• Jumping ahead on the timeline, in Robert Rath's "The Gambler's Quest," Lando passes a series of tests to get the skiff guard job at Jabba's palace. This contradicts "The Bounty Hunters: Scoundrel's Wages," which coincidentally also finds Lando passing a series of tests (albeit different ones) to get the gig. (In the comedic "Skreej" from "Tales" Issue 10, Lando steals a skiff guard's identity, and his job with it.)
The Star Wars Kids comics weren't the first time Lucasfilm played fast and loose with continuity in kid-oriented stories. Heck, in the 45 rpm record adaptation of "A New Hope," after Luke sees R2's message from Leia, he simply travels to Ben's house to ask him about it; the story skips the subplot of R2 running off in search of Kenobi. As a kid, I never gave it much thought, and I suppose kids in general are not continuity nitpickers.
The 1996 "Shadows of the Empire" multimedia project is another prime example: It told two differing stories of Boba Fett delivering Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt. In the six-issue "Shadows" comic, written by John Wagner, Fett barely survives a showdown with IG-88 above Tatooine, then regroups and finally delivers the carbonite slab after killing, tricking and sidestepping several bounty hunters.
In <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bounty_Hunters" target="_blank">"Battle of the Bounty Hunters,"</a> Dark Horse's only pop-up comic, the encounter with IG-88 is the same, but then Windham departs from Wagner's script and has Fett go directly to Jabba's palace. Bib Fortuna tries to use a creature to kill Fett, but fails, and Fett delivers the prize.
In what have to rank as the most unnecessary "Star Wars" comics ever produced, a partial "Shadows" adaptation was produced in minicomic format for <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Shadows_of_the_Empire_%28Galoob%29" target="_blank">Galoob</a> (part one) and <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Shadows_of_the_Empire_%28Ertl%29" target="_blank">Ertl</a> (part two). It goes about halfway through the "Shadows" story and comes off as a rote summary of the plot more so than an action-oriented yarn. Perhaps it was supposed to be a tamer version of Wagner's comic, or maybe the minicomic format necessitated the tweaked script and new art. These comics are collected in "Wild Space" Volume 1.
Although Wookieepedia lists the two "Shadows" specials packaged with Kenner action-figure two-packs (Vader vs. Xizor and Boba Fett vs. IG-88) as uncollected comics, this is a mistake: Both are merely reprints of part of the main "Shadows" comic. So they are of interest to people who collect variants, but not to those who seek distinct stories.
Every comic I listed above is only for completists. Discerning readers will want to stick with the adult stories of the classic trilogy era, as they are superior and accepted as canon within the Legends timeline.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksFri, 31 Oct 2014 19:14:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/31/Star-Wars-flashback-Star-Wars-Kids-comics-199799-Battle-of-the-Bounty-Hunters-1996-etc‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Jedi vs. Sith’ (2001)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/30/Star-Wars-flashback-Jedi-vs-Sith-2001
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<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Jedi_vs._Sith" target="_blank">"Jedi vs. Sith"</a> (2001) is the second of three pieces to the puzzle that tell the story of arguably the most important pre-movie event on the "Star Wars" timeline: The end of the Sith (or so the Jedi think), leading Ki-Adi-Mundi to note in "Episode I" that "The Sith have been extinct for a millennium." This crucial piece of "Star Wars" lore is also one of the neatest examples of the spontaneous creativity that can arise from a sprawling timeline.
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The first telling of the Battle of Ruusan was in William C. Dietz's illustrated novella "Dark Forces: Jedi Knight" (1998). Written before "Episode I" came out, Dietz didn't know to call the bad guys "Sith" (he confusingly calls both sides "Jedi," although he does use the terms "Brotherhood of Darkness" and "Army of Light"). Kyle Katarn (in a story set slightly after "Return of the Jedi") experiences the events through dream-walking via a Jedi ghost named Tal, who fought for the Light during the battle.
The third telling came in Drew Karpyshyn's novel "Darth Bane: Path of Destruction" (2006). After chronicling Bane's formative years, the book retells the events of "Jedi vs. Sith" from Bane's perspective, replacing that of cousins Tomcat, Bug and Rain, pre-teens or barely teenagers who had been recruited by the desperate Army of Light.
The six-issue "Jedi vs. Sith" drops Tal from the narrative for some reason, but expands the Battle of Ruusan into a war of attrition through various skirmishes. It culminates with increasingly nutso Brotherhood leader Lord Kaan exploding a thought bomb that captures the souls of most of the Jedi and Sith. (Those souls will be released by Katarn in "Dark Forces.") Bane escapes, as does Rain (who becomes Bane's apprentice Zannah), and Tomcat, who wanders into the desert. The bouncers, empathic round creatures that float in the air, carry over from "Dark Forces."
Because the main characters are three (initially) innocent kids, "Jedi vs. Sith" is a powerful story about the horrors of war in the tradition of "Ender's Game," except that this one feels ancient rather than futuristic. Without much sense of how the world works, why wars happen, or even the moral difference between good and evil, Tomcat, Bug and Rain are plucked off of their crappy mudball of Somov Rit by ancient Jedi Master Torr.
"Jedi vs. Sith" is far and away my favorite Darko Macan story, as I found "Vader's Quest" boring and "X-Wing Rogue Squadron: The Phantom Affair" better but still uneven. I think artist Ramon F. Bachs (along with inker Raul Fernandez and colorist Chris Blythe) deserves a lot of credit for that, as he also drew "Jango Fett: Open Seasons" (another masterwork of knitting together the continuity), which is the best work by Haden Blackman.
Bachs' main trick is to draw the kids with big eyes and tear-stained faces, but darn it, it works. Indeed, the whole idea of Light vs. Dark works best with kids whose moral compasses are unformed and who can be easily manipulated. Often times when adults (Ulic Qel-Droma, Anakin Skywalker, Jacen Solo) decide to turn evil, I think, "Come on, you know better than that." With kids, there's a palpable sense of unavoidable tragedy. Tomcat's enthusiasm about war is akin to the excitement about a soccer game for a kid in modern civilization.
Because of the medium, we can't escape seeing kids on the battlefield and thinking they shouldn't be there. Tomcat makes a couple new friends on the recruitment ship, then watches them get blown out of the sky. He kills an enemy, and sees it's a fresh-faced girl about his own age. And ultimately, since this is a "Star Wars" story, the kids get various limbs sliced off in battle.
Every moment of death and destruction is a rude awakening for Tomcat and Bug, but Tomcat's particular arrogance and sense of entitlement make him opt to join the Dark Side rather than destroy it. Readers, along with Bug, see Tomcat's downfall and feel helpless to stop it. Rain's is the most powerful story, because the naïve youngest cousin is just as empathic as the bouncers, but to a fault: When a good Jedi kills her bouncer out of necessity (the bouncers were spreading depression among his troops), Rain immediately kills him with the Force. She suspects it's wrong, but admits to her new teacher, Bane, that she doesn't fully understand the Dark Side because she's "still young."
I'll likely get more insight into the other characters – as well as Bane's instituting of the Rule of Two and training of his new apprentice, Zannah -- when I get to my "Path of Destruction" re-read. But "Jedi vs. Sith" achieves what it intends to do: Make my heart break for Tomcat, Bug and Rain.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksThu, 30 Oct 2014 00:01:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/30/Star-Wars-flashback-Jedi-vs-Sith-2001‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Tag & Bink’ comics (2001, 2006)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/29/Star-Wars-flashback-Tag--Bink-comics-2001-2006
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Everyone knows about the "Robot Chicken" and "Family Guy" parodies on the boob tube, but the <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tag_and_Bink" target="_blank">"Tag & Bink" comics</a> are arguably even better. They are written by Kevin Rubio, who broke onto the "Star Wars" parody scene with the short film "Troops" and brought his talents to comics with "A Death Star is Born" in "Star Wars Tales." The meticulously detailed art comes from Lucas Marangon, whose visual gags (as scripted by Rubio) are often as funny as the dialogue and situations -- for example, young ghost Anakin and old ghost Anakin give each other the evil eye at the end of "Return of the Jedi."
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Tag and Bink are like the title characters of the Shakespeare parody "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead": Somehow, through machinations that are often clever enough to deserve a giggle themselves, they end up in the background throughout the saga. The titles of the four "Tag & Bink" comics are "Tag & Bink Are Dead" Issues 1 and 2 (both 2001), "The Return of Tag & Bink Special Edition" and "Tag & Bink Episode I: Revenge of the Clone Menace" (both 2006). Rather than using those clunky titles, I'll refer to them respectively by the films they parody: In order, "A New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back," "Return of the Jedi" and the prequel trilogy.
As noted, a lot of the chuckles come from the way Tag and Bink get into scrapes that line up perfectly with the plots of the films, allowing them to be masked background characters. They start off as cowardly Rebel troopers on the Tantive IV who steal stormtrooper armor in order to save their own skins. Thus, they end up on the Death Star. As the saga moves forward, they are TIE pilots and Emperor's Royal Guards, and also end up in the guise of Boba Fett and a skiff guard in Jabba's palace.
Other laughs come by taking a little assumption from the film and following it to a ridiculous degree. In the "Jedi" parody, Tag and Bink are the royal guards whom the Emperor orders to "leave us." So they walk around the back of the elevator, where they are then in an awkward position because there is no elevator on that side and they are too embarrassed to walk back around to the front.
The "Jedi" parody is an expansion and reworking of "The Revenge of Tag & Bink" from "Star Wars Tales" Issue 12, which mostly featured the duo bickering in the Sarlacc pit as various guards go flying and screaming past them. Rubio notes in the opening crawl of the "Jedi" parody that he "was never satisfied with the results (of the 'Tales' story) and always thought he could make it better if allowed more time, but as usual he was already three weeks late." Two pages of material are repurposed and redrawn, as Rick Zombo had drawn the "Tales" story.
What makes the "Tag & Bink" comics especially rich is that they aren't stream-of-consciousness slapstick. The plot, although crazy, is logical, and threads follow through the four issues. For example:
• C-3PO's loud vocabulator gets the duo caught by Vader on the Tantive IV in "A New Hope," so Bink, as a stormtrooper, blasts the droid out of revenge in Cloud City in "Empire."
• The "Empire" and "Jedi" issues find Lando using Tag's Battle of Tanaab victory as a line to pick up women, much to Tag's annoyance.
• Tag and Bink steal the Imperial shuttle Tydirium for the Alliance and assist a guy named Manny Both-Hanz (a play on Mon Mothma saying "Many Bothans died to bring us this information").
• The duo inexplicably pop up as Force ghosts at the end of "Jedi," which is a springboard for the prequel story where they are bungling younglings in the Jedi Temple. It ties together at the end when Darth Vader, fresh from slaughtering younglings in "Episode III," lets them go so long as they forget they ever had Force abilities.
The only thread that's a bit wonky finds Rubio either forgetting or (more likely) not caring, for the sake of the joke, that Jango and Boba Fett are different people. In the "Jedi" issue, Boba's lady problems with a gal named Kannan (he doesn't pay enough attention to her) allow our heroes to escape, and in the prequel issue, Kannan is dating Jango. When Dexter's diner calls out "Order 66!," Jango's programming kicks in and he attacks young Tag and Bink, leading Kannan to accuse him of ignoring her. (Wookieepedia explains that Kannan, who is based on a friend of Rubio's, ages very slowly.)
The prequel issue is the funniest of the four. Young Tag, blessed with Corellian suaveness, hides around corners with Bink at the Naboo lake house in "Attack of the Clones" and helps the hapless Anakin say the right things to woo Padme. (When Anakin goes off-script, he says stupid things about sand, Tag observes.)
Padme: "We'd be living a lie. I couldn't do that. Could you, Anakin? Could you live a lie?"
Tag (whispering to Anakin): "Now dude, trust me. Agree with her, and then turn and walk away real cool, like you don't really need her."
Anakin: "No, you're right. It would destroy us."
Padme (as the scene extends beyond the film): "Anakin, wait!" (She pulls Anakin into a deep kiss.)
Bink: "That's amazing."
Tag: "Yeah, it's sad, but that kinda stuff works all the time. It's the 'catch-and-release' principle."
The "Tag & Bink" quadrilogy skips the Battle of Hoth (the duo was picking through the Yavin base rubble and dodging Boba Fett) and "The Phantom Menace" (as they weren't born yet), so readers don't get a complete parody of all six films. But I can't find much to complain about. With the loving attention to detail – both of the films and Tag and Bink's arcs – this quadrilogy ranks on the short list of best "Star Wars" parodies in any medium.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksWed, 29 Oct 2014 12:57:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/29/Star-Wars-flashback-Tag--Bink-comics-2001-2006‘Star Wars’ flashback: Hasbro comics (2002), ‘Brothers in Arms’ (2005) and ‘Routine Valor’ (2006)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/28/Star-Wars-flashback-Hasbro-comics-2002-Brothers-in-Arms-2005-and-Routine-Valor-2006
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Dark Horse Comics bookended its 2002-06 phase of "Clone Wars"-era stories with issues that couldn't be found in comic shops. Four 10-page stories were packaged with Hasbro/Toys R Us "Episode II: Attack of the Clones" toys in 2002, and the 10-page <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Free_Comic_Book_Day" target="_blank">Free Comic Book Day</a> issue, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Routine_Valor" target="_blank">"Routine Valor"</a> (2006), closed out Dark Horse's first phase of "Clone Wars." It followed the full-length <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Brothers_in_Arms" target="_blank">"Brothers in Arms"</a> from the previous year's FCBD.
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Although they aren't standard releases, all are easy to find either in their original form or in trade paperbacks. The Hasbro comics are in the "Menace Revealed" omnibus, "Brothers in Arms" is in "Clone Wars" TPB Volume 7 and "Routine Valor" is in "Clone Wars" Omnibus Volume 3.
The Hasbro comics are mostly set before or during the events of "Attack of the Clones." They are written by Jason Hall, who wrote some of the best short comics in "Star Wars Tales," but these are intended to inspire kids' play scenarios rather than venture deeply into the mythology.
Still, there are a few notable moments. In portraying an encounter between the Jedi Starfighter and the Slave I, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Full_of_Surprises" target="_blank">"Full of Surprises"</a> reveals that Obi-Wan and Jango squared off before "Episode II" (and in an asteroid field, at that!). But since neither knows who is piloting the other ship, they can still have their first face-to-face meeting in the movie.
In a flashback, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Most_Precious_Weapon" target="_blank">"Most Precious Weapon"</a> has a panel showing Yoda training Count Dooku in the art of lightsaber combat, marking the only Yoda-Dooku flashback in the comics (although we saw some of Dooku's Jedi days in "Jango Fett: Open Seasons"). It's within a wider flashback of Dooku thinking about the Battle of Geonosis as he flies back to Coruscant. The novel "Yoda: Dark Rendezvous" explores Dooku and Yoda's relationship more thoroughly.
There's not much to say about, <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Practice_Makes_Perfect" target="_blank">"Practice Makes Perfect,"</a> which finds Anakin being cocky as he mows down battle droids, other than the fact that it's harder to place on the timeline than the other three stories. It could be set during the Clone Wars or slightly before "Episode II."
<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Machines_of_War" target="_blank">"Machines of War"</a> shows Yoda interacting with clones on the Republic gunship as it enters the Geonosis arena battle. Yoda's grim look in the movie speaks volumes, but his thoughts are articulated here: "The need for these machines of war can only be the sign of a perilous future."
"Brothers in Arms" (not to be confused with the same-titled yarn in "Republic" Issue 50, although it likewise explores the brotherhood of Obi-Wan and Anakin) is the only story written by Miles Lane other than the "Revenge of the Sith" adaptation. It's more adult-oriented than the Hasbro yarns, but still simplistic, like a lot of Free Comic Book Day releases, which tend to be aimed at the broadest possible audience.
It teases the idea of our heroes sneaking up on Dooku and Grievous on a planet called Ruhe to kill or capture them and end the war, but after a bunch of droid-fighting action in a forest, Obi-Wan and Anakin find that the villains aren't at the citadel after all. The final panel introduces their next mission: going after Nute Gunray, as chronicled in the novel "Labyrinth of Evil."
"Routine Valor," written by Randy Stradley, is similarly a slice-of-war tale, but with the focus on the clones. When Obi-Wan's mission plan breaks down on Sarrish, the clones get the job done anyway by devising their own plan. While this segment of the battle is a Republic victory, the Battle of Sarrish is overall a Separatist victory, as noted in the fifth-season "Clone Wars" episode "Missing in Action" (the only watchable episode of the four-part Meebur Gascon/astromech droids adventure).
Art by Douglas Wheatley (who would become popular among fans for "Dark Times," which launched later in 2006) is the biggest appeal of "Routine Valor," but as with all the comics in this post, it's a collectible curiosity more so than an essential read.
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksTue, 28 Oct 2014 23:22:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/28/Star-Wars-flashback-Hasbro-comics-2002-Brothers-in-Arms-2005-and-Routine-Valor-2006‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘The Constancia Affair,’ ‘The Kashyyyk Depths,’ ‘Planet of Kadril’ (1979-80)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/26/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Constancia-Affair-The-Kashyyyk-Depths-Planet-of-Kadril-197980
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//constancia-affair.jpg">
If you've read Dark Horse's reprints of the 1979-84 newspaper strips – "Classic Star Wars: The Early Adventures" (writer and artist Russ Manning), "Classic Star Wars: Han Solo at Stars' End" (writer Archie Goodwin and artist Alfredo Alcala) and "Classic Star Wars" (Goodwin and artist Al Williamson) – you can knock most of the newspaper strips off your checklist. But not all.
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Three whole stories, plus three more oddities, went unpublished (or uncollected, in the case of "The Constancia Affair" – meaning it was published as an individual issue but not collected in a trade paperback or omnibus) by Dark Horse, but thanks to the wonderful <a href="http://dailysw.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Daily Star Wars blog</a>, you can at least read them.
For whatever reason, Dark Horse reprinted the very first Manning story, the Sunday-only "Constancia Affair," exclusively as a Kay-Bee Toys comic in 1998 (pictured above), making it rare enough that as I type this the lowest price for it on eBay is $45. Manning's second Sunday-only arc, "The Kashyyyk Depths," went completely unpublished by Dark Horse, as did "Planet of Kadril," which was written by Russ Helm with art by Alcala.
The never-published-on-the-funny-pages work includes the start of an "A New Hope" adaptation by Williamson; a deleted sequence from Manning's longest story, "Gambler's World"; and a handful of panels from Manning's unfinished story about Luke needing to save Leia from Tusken Raiders.
In chronological order, let's take a closer look at these tales, which rank as some of the most obscure in "Star Wars" lore:
<a href="http://dailysw.blogspot.com/search/label/Gambler%27s%20World" target="_blank">Williamson's unfinished "A New Hope" adaptation (1979)</a>
Before he changed his mind and decided he couldn't devote time to both "Star Wars" and "Secret Agent X-9," Williamson produced 12 daily panels adapting the movie, up through the "Look sir, droids!" scene (He changes the dialogue to "From the tracks, it appears to be droids!"). It seems odd that the L.A. Times Syndicate considered adapting the film to kick off its "Star Wars" strips, but I suppose it was a different time back then, before the age of home video.
Still, "Episode IV" had been adapted in the best-selling Marvel Comics and the best-selling novelization, and the film was regularly re-released in theaters. So it makes sense that when the Syndicate hired Manning to replace Williamson, they decided to let him create original tales. (On the other hand, "A New Hope" would be adapted to comics two more times: A 1997 Special Edition version, and a 1998 Manga version.)
<a href="http://dailysw.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Constancia%20Affair" target="_blank">"The Constancia Affair" (1979)</a>
The very first "Star Wars" newspaper strip to see print was not given a title until Dark Horse's Kay-Bee exclusive. It consists of 18 Sunday strips, and runs for 12 pages in the Kay-Bee comic. Since I don't own it, I can't be sure, but presumably Dark Horse used the same method as on their "Classic Star Wars" series of deleting redundant panels for the sake of flow.
As I noted in my review of "The Early Adventures," Manning's art is respectable, but his writing is mediocre to god-awful. That having been said, "Constancia" and "The Kashyyyk Depths" are among his least-bad stories. My theory for why they didn't make the "Early Adventures" cut is that they didn't hit the standard 24-page count. Since "Kashyyyk" was nine Sunday strips long, that equates to six pages, and a total of 18 pages when combined with "Constancia's" 12 pages. Even if the other six pages were advertisements, a lot of "Star Wars" completists would've been happy just to own these stories.
But enough dreaming about what never was. As is the case on all Manning strips, "Constancia" is packed with seemingly apocryphal elements: We are told that Luke is the son of Master and Mistress Tan Skywalker, that C-3PO was activated centuries ago on the planet Affa, and that Darth Vader's advanced TIE fighter is not so unique – run-of-the-mill Imperials use ships of that design, too. Enter the ret-conners: "Tan" is a title given to elite pilots, and Affa features a Cybot Galactica plant that makes protocol droids. And I suppose it's possible that a few other TIE advanced fighters could exist. Maybe they were part of an imperfect batch, and utilized on obscure missions such as this one.
Manning makes the same mistake that artist Howard Chaykin did on "The Keeper's World" (for Pizzazz magazine): He puts a TIE fighter on steroids and re-imagines it as an "Imperial landing craft" that's equally spacious as the Millennium Falcon. (Walt Simonson would later draw a 'roided-out Y-wing in Marvel Issue 49.) Manning's ship looks a lot like a TIE bomber, which is intriguing because that ship wasn't introduced until "The Empire Strikes Back" the following year.
In "Constancia," Han and Chewie fly around with a woman named Gyla, who at first seems to be a random space babe that Han picked up as if he was the outer-space version of Bob Falfa from "American Graffiti" (which he kind of is, but still).
According to Rich Handley's article in Star Wars Galaxy Collector Issue 3 (August 1998), Manning featured Han and Chewie in the first two Sunday strips and featured Luke and Leia in the concurrent daily strip, "Gambler's World," to make it clear to readers that these were separate narratives. (After "Gambler's World," Manning told one story at a time, seven days a week. And fortunately for "The Early Adventures," each fit nicely into a 24-page comic.)
<a href="http://dailysw.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Kashyyyk%20Depths" target="_blank">"The Kashyyyk Depths" (1979)</a>
This untitled arc was given a name by "Star Wars" scholar Jason Fry. Although the framing mechanism of C-3PO giving a report to cavern-sized Rebel Alliance computer Mistress Mnemos takes place after "Constancia," the story itself takes place before it.
Manning serves up a more detailed look at the Wookiee homeworld than we were privy to in 1978's "Star Wars Holiday Special," as we learn that no one dares go below "the eighth level." While later stories did bring the action all the way down to the planet's surface (and "Episode III" featured a patch of the world that isn't tree-shrouded), the idea of increasing danger as you go farther down on Kashyyyk was retained in the lore.
In this story, we learn that Gyla was an Imperial scientist before she absconded with Han. In talking to Mnemos, C-3PO suggests that Han has reason to suspect that Gyla is an Imperial spy, but this thread is never picked up on.
<a href="http://dailysw.blogspot.com/search/label/Gambler%27s%20World" target="_blank">Deleted scene from "Gambler's World" (1979)</a>
In these four unpublished daily strips, Luke and Leia ride a really scary roller coaster.
<a href="http://dailysw.blogspot.com/search/label/Tatooine%20Sojourn" target="_blank">Unfinished Luke/Tusken Raider story (1979)</a>
Like his last-published story, "Frozen World of Ota" (which was finished by Manning's assistant, Rick Hoberg), the Tusken Raider story went uncompleted by Manning due to his failing health and death. It consists of six daily strips and seems to take place in the middle of a larger story, as Luke speaks of Leia having been kidnapped by Tusken Raiders.
It's notable for the similarity to "Episode II" (where Shmi is kidnapped by Raiders), the use of "sandmen" as an alternate name for the creatures, and for the final strip, which finds Luke perched over an unconscious Tusken, saying "I'm going to be the first human in 200 years to see what a Tusken Raider looks like ... under his mask!" It would take until the "Republic" comics two decades later before we'd actually see an unmasked Tusken, although since Sharad and A'Sharad Hett are both humans who were adopted into Tusken culture, perhaps we still don't know what a traditional Raider looks like. If so, that's a helluva cliffhanger, Russ.
<a href="http://dailysw.blogspot.com/search/label/Planet%20of%20Kadril" target="_blank">"Planet of Kadril" (1980)</a>
This story by Helm, who co-wrote "Princess Leia: Imperial Servant" and "The Second Kessel Run" with Manning, ranks on the short list of the worst "Star Wars" tales ever told. Covering nearly three months of dailies and Sundays in late 1980, it is interminable, repetitive, nonsensical and almost entirely absent of action scenes. Darth Vader uses pacifog as a mind-control stimulant to get the denizens of Kadril to gather up all of the planet's loose rocks for him, because the rocks have special technological powers. Luke, Leia and Han are prominently featured, but don't do much of anything.
From a critical standpoint, I can guess what went wrong: Helm and Alcala let "Kadril" unfold in a stream-of-consciousness style and never grasped where it was going, especially as the story got longer and longer.
I don't blame Dark Horse for skipping this one: Because "Planet of Kadril" would've taken up multiple comic issues, and because it has no value other than as a historical curiosity for die-hard fans, it could've delivered a blow to the line's overall reputation.
That having been said, I'm glad Daily Star Wars gives us a chance to read it (or at least the start of it, before you throw your hands up in frustration). As a critic, I prefer good "Star Wars" – and "Planet of Kadril" is not remotely in the ballpark of good -- but as a "Star Wars" fan I love ALL "Star Wars."
(Note: In a previous version of this post, I wrongly credited Archie Goodwin for writing "Planet of Kadril," under the old myth that Russ Helm was a pseudonym. However, Helm is a real person, as revealed in Star Wars Insider Issue 141. Thank you to the Daily Star Wars Blog for the correction.)
Star WarsStar Wars FlashbackComic booksSun, 26 Oct 2014 00:25:00 -0700http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/26/Star-Wars-flashback-The-Constancia-Affair-The-Kashyyyk-Depths-Planet-of-Kadril-197980‘Star Wars’ flashback: ‘Infinities: Return of the Jedi’ (2003-04)http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/index.cfm/2014/10/25/Star-Wars-flashback-Infinities-Return-of-the-Jedi-200304
<img src="http://www.johnvhansen.com/jvh/blog/images//infinities-jedi.jpg">
After imaginative "Infinities" yarns from Chris Warner ("A New Hope") and Dave Land ("The Empire Strikes Back"), the series concludes with Adam Gallardo's relatively disappointing four-issue <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Infinities%3A_Return_of_the_Jedi" target="_blank">"Infinities: Return of the Jedi"</a> (2003-04). Despite the two previous installments going beyond the constraints of the film in each title, Gallardo's "Infinities" entry is constrained by the narrative structure of the actual "Return of the Jedi."
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Gallardo's alternate timeline starts when Jabba the Hutt angrily slaps Threepio during the negotiation with Boushh. In the movie, Threepio recovers and continues to translate the exchange. In "Infinities: Jedi," the droid's head goes flying off and Jabba says "I can't understand a word (Boushh is) saying. Get rid of this scum." This forces Leia to take her helmet off; a Gamorrean guard shoots her, sending the thermal detonator flying; and everyone scrambles out of the palace, including Boba Fett with Han's carbonite slab.
With this lame starting point, it shouldn't be surprising that "Infinities: Jedi" never lives up to the grand ideas of its predecessors, which featured the proton torpedo failing to blow up the Death Star and Luke dying on the plains of Hoth.
Because everyone's timing of getting from Tatooine to Sullust to Endor is thrown off a little bit, it turns out that both Luke and Leia confront Vader on the Death Star and they turn him to the light side before the Emperor mounts a Force-lightning attack. The Emperor then slinks off. This leads to a final striking image of Darth Vader in all white telling Rebellion officials "I may be of some use in locating my former master."
Rather than the ending, this should've been the starting point of "Infinities: Jedi," with the narrative delving into the question of how the Rebel Alliance would treat the White Knight Vader. I think it's likely that they would try him for crimes against civilization, and this could've led to debates about how much they should allow Vader to assist in hunting down the Emperor --